Raised by Wolves
by darkerthanthedarksideofthemoon
Summary: Hermione along with her godson Teddy and her surrogate fathers Sirius and Remus move to Forks, Washington. They just need to get out of England for a while. Rated M for mature content
1. Authors note and character list

I do not own Harry Potter or Twilight, this is an AU, some details may mimic the current timeline for both stories but it won't purposely follow them. Couple of things to point out. Hermione was blood adopted by Sirius in the summer before their 4th year, I will go into details about this later. Also, Teddy wasn't conceived until a year after the war, Tonks passed away 3 months after his birth during a raid on a death eater hideout that she wasn't supposed to be at. This makes Teddy 2 instead of the 4 he would be in the actual timeline. School term for Hogwarts, there is no set terms stated in the books so I've decided that the last day is June 30th and the first is (obviously) September 1st.

I've decided to add the ages of the main characters on this list!

Fancast-.

Sirius Black - Jared Leto 43 years old

Remus Lupin – Tom Hiddleston 42 years old

Harry Potter – Daniel Radcliff 21 years old

Hermione Granger – Jenna Dewan (as Freya from Witches of Eastend) 22 years old

Luna Lovegood – Natalie Dormer 20 years old

Ginny Weasley - Elçin Sangu 20 years old

Edward Cullen - Gaspard Ulliel Looks 18

Carlisle Cullen – Alexander Skarsgard Looks 25

Esme Cullen – Emmy Rossum Looks 23

Rosalie Hale – Ashley Benson Looks 19

Alice Cullen – Ashley Greene Looks 18

Jasper Hale- Jensen Ackles Looks 19

Emmett Cullen – Ian Somerhalder Looks 19

All of the vampires except Carlisle and Esme are able to pass as high school students

Sam Uley – Martin Sensmeier 26 years old

Jacob Black - Taylor Lautner 18 years old

Leah Clearwater – Julia Jones 25 years old

Charlie Swan – Jeffery Dean Morgan 46 years old

If you don't like my fan castings that's fine! Feel free to imagine whoever you want 🙂

Andromeda 49 years old

Bella 18 years old

Teddy 2 years old

Jared 18 years old

Paul 18 years old

Seth 18 years old

Quil 17 years old

Embry 17 years old

Colin 14 years old

Brady 14 years old


	2. Tragic Magic

_**Quick note: there is an excerpt from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and I do not take credit for that it was written by JK Rowling, it is marked by asterisks around the area, also, i know I put 13 instead of 12 there is a reason for that :D PLEASE review, and yes I know they haven't made it to Forks yet, but I promise it IS coming! This is my first ever fanfiction and I'd like to give a shout out to my best friend and beta starkiss666!**_

* * *

"I'm home!" she hollered as she entered the two-story townhouse that she and her fiancé Ron had just started renting a few months ago. Quickly slipping off her jacket, she stepped out of the sensible 3 inch heels she had been wearing for her meeting today. She finally got it pushed through! There was a new legislation, finally, that forbade employers from not hiring and/or firing individuals based on them being werewolves. It also made it so they had to give the two days before and after the full moon off to any employee with the lupine trait. Along with her earlier legislation that stated they must receive equal pay to their non-lupine counter parts, as well as benefits this was a major step in the right direction to stop all the prejudice and hatred in her world.

"Ron?" She called out into the dark home again. 'Where in the world could he be? I know I'm a couple hours early but he said he'd be home by 5' She glanced at her watch, noting it was 6:30 then up to the big clock hanging on the wall, an engagement gift from her soon to be mother and father in law. The hand labeled Ronald was pointed to home along with her own, the multitude of different colored hands hanging underneath the clock made her smile. She couldn't wait to get married and start a family with the man she loves. A small snort popped out when she remembered just how many empty hands there were hanging under the clock 'Honestly, does she expect me to be a broodmare? One or two will suffice!'

Climbing the stairs quietly she started unbuttoning her grey silk blouse but froze when she reached the landing leading to the 2 bedrooms and single bathroom on this floor, along with the master suite. The unmistakable sound of skin slapping skin met her ears. She drew in a shuddering breath and slowly made her way towards the closed door of their suite, grabbing the knob she turned it quietly preparing herself to face what was behind the door. Pushing it all the way open she took a step into the room and stood there staring at the sight before her. Her love, her life, underneath a man! She slapped her hand over her mouth to try and stifle the sob that threatened to escape, she started backing towards the hall. Unfortunately, she stepped right on one of their pants and made the belt jingle, the two men stopped moving, their heads snapping towards the door.

"Mione!" Ron yelled, scrambling out from underneath who she now recognized as Theo Nott, a Slytherin from their year at school.

Fumbling to get her wand out of the pocket of her straight leg black work pants she finally got it and pointed it in her fiancé's direction "Don't take another step towards me Ronald Weasley, what the hell is going on here?!" She screamed shrilly.

"You weren't supposed to be home till 8:30!" Ron stated, pulling on the jeans he finally grabbed from the floor

"O and like that's an excuse? I come home after working all damn day to get this legislature pushed through, which it did by the way, hoping to celebrate with my fiancé but instead I find him in bed with Theo balls deep in him!"

A snort came from the bed, she glared at Theo moving the wand to him for a moment, he held his hands up in surrender. "Honestly Granger, if you want to join us, you're more than welcome." The dirty blonde-haired man smirked at her.

Groaning she moved her wand back to Ron, "Now Mione'..." he trailed off as she glared at him harder. "Mione' love, it's just a mistake, a one-time thing, I just needed to get it out of my system before the wedding, that's all!"

A snort again came from the bed "O Granger, please tell me you aren't going to fall for that? We've been fucking since 5th year"

Her jaw dropped and without thinking she flicked her wand at the closet, watching as her clothes, shoes, etc came out along with her luggage, the clothes folded in the air and packed themselves neatly into the luggage before it shrunk and flew towards her, she did the same towards the bathroom and a few seconds later had three shrunken bags in her pocket.

Ron held his hands up, taking a step closer to the pissed off little witch, "Mione' baby, we can work this out, just because I'm fucking Theo doesn't mean I don't love you! I'm marrying you not him! We can still have everything we wanted! You got that legislature pushed through, now we can focus on the wedding and after that babies, you won't have to work anymore, you can take some lessons from mum to get all the motherly spells down and in the meantime, I can keep Theo in his apartment and see him on the side! It all works out, no one has to know except the three of us."

He watched as his women's hair sparked blue at the tips, shuffling back quickly to hopefully escape her wrath he stumbled back onto the bed "Avis!" Hermione stated quietly, watching as a hundred little birds popped up, Ron trembled on the bed. "Oppungo!" she smirked slightly as the birds dove towards Ron, she turned on her heel slamming the bedroom door behind her she made her way back downstairs and to the fireplace, grabbing a fistful of floo powder she stepping into the brick hole, threw the powder down while stating, very clearly, "Lupin Cottage"! Several seconds later she stumbled out of the fire and fell to her knees sobbing.

"Hello?" she heard someone call from the kitchen, ignoring them she fell back onto her bum and pulled her knees to her chest and started crying into them. "Kitten?" she glanced up to see Sirius Black, one of her father figures for the last 8 years staring at her with concern written all over his face. She just opened her arms and continued crying. He didn't even hesitate to rush over and scoop her up, hugging her close and whispering into her curly hair that everything was going to be ok, he sat them on the couch and pulled out his wand. "Expecto Patronum" he watched as the big shaggy dog materialized "Remus, we have a problem with kitten, come home now" he watched the dog bound out of sight before reaching up and petting Hermione's hair. "shhh Kitten, I'm going to go get you some calming draught and then you're going to tell me what happened ok? Remus will be back soon."

He wandered into the kitchen, flicking his wand at the warded upper cupboard (toddlers ya know), it popped open and he grabbed a small vial and flicked his wand at the tea pot a couple times, filling it up and making it boil. He'd normally do it the muggle way but he just didn't have time, he pulled out her special tin of caramel red apple tea and quickly made it. Adding just two drops of the potent potion, he stirred it in and walked back out to the living room just as Remus came barreling through the floo.

"Mina...what happened?" Remus murmured to Sirius, he just shrugged and wandered back to the couch, handing the still crying girl her tea, she took a few sips and waited for the potion to take effect. Her tears finally slowed down, turning into sniffles, she cuddled into the werewolf that had sat on the couch next to her, his arm wrapping around her middle. "Mina-bird, why are you so sad? I heard from Luna at the bookshope that your legislation went through! Shouldn't you be happy?"

The girl in question nodded mutely, "It did, and I am happy about that" she hiccupped, "but I got home a couple hours early and wanted to celebrate with Ron and I walked in on him in bed with someone else!" a fresh round of tears started streaming down her face and she turned her head into Remus's shoulder. A vicious growl ripped through the room, she felt his arm tighten around her middle, she knew that he was using her to keep him grounded and stop himself from storming her townhouse and murdering Ron.

"Kitten! Who was it? Was it that slag Lavender? I knew she hadn't actually moved on!" Sirius ground out.

Hermione just shook her head, "Honestly, worse, it was Theo Nott"

Both men just froze, shell shocked, "Theo Nott, as in the male, Theo Nott" Sirius questioned.

Hermione sighed "The one and only, can I stay here a couple days? I Just need to clear my head and figure out what I'm going to do, I'll gladly watch Teddy in exchange for a room".

She shot a watery smile towards Remus when he snorted "You know you have your own room here Mina-bird, you don't need to ask and you don't need to watch Teddy as payment, this is your home too" he poked her in the ribs for emphasis, grinning when she let out a little giggle and squirmed away from him, sitting up she ran her hand through her raven locks.

She grabbed the mug and downed the last of her tea while it was still warm, "I'm going to go change and have a quick shower, I'll make dinner after." with another quick watery smile, she bolted up the stairs heading for her room.

Sirius turned to Remus just in time to tackle him to the floor to stop him storming through the floo. The boys wrestled for a minute before Sirius straddled Remus pinning his arms to his side with his legs "Moony! She'll end you if you storm over there and kill him!" The werewolf just growled his eyes flashing amber and hardening in anger, "Moony, seriously, you don't wanna be on the receiving end of her wand! Trust me, been there, done that, it isn't fun!"

Sirius watched as the amber slowly faded back to his friend's sea foam eyes. A crooked smirk pulled on his face and he transformed into padfoot, licking Remus's cheek and bounding off. "Uhg! Padfood get back here so I can strangle you" Remus yelled laughing slighty, he took a glance at his watch, "Sirius! I'm going to go get Teddy from Andromeda, I'll be back in about 15 minutes, do NOT let Mina cook! I'll stop by that takeout place by the leaky and grab Chinese!" a muffled affirmative answer came from wherever padfoot had gotten himself wedged, another chuckle slipped out as he grabbed a handful of floo powder and spun away to Andromedas.

20 minutes later, Hermione found herself dressed in comfortable black and white striped pajama bottoms and a purple tanktop with fuzzy purple socks on her feet. She wandered back down the stairs when she suddenly heard the distinctive squealing laughter of her 3rd favorite marauder. Walking into the kitchen she saw Remus dishing out chinese food from the takeout place by the leaky, turning her head she saw Sirius sitting at the table using his wand to make multicolored bubbles spray out towards a turqouise haired Teddy who was sitting in his highchair giggling and clapping his hands.

A slight laugh escaped from her and caught the attention of Teddy "Mina, mina, mina!" he chanted over and over reaching his arms out towards her.

Smiling she walked over and scooped him out of his chair, placing a kiss to his cheek. "Teddy bear! I missed you! You've gotten so big!" She tickled his belly and relished in the peals of laughter it drew from him. She placed him back in his highchair, much to his dismay she noticed, as his hair turned a slightly darker blue. She just placed another smacking kiss to his cheek and wandered over to the counter. "Can I help at all Remus?" He nodded and pointed to a plate off to the side, she grabbed the plate of beef and broccoli that had been cut up and cooled so the toddler could feed himself. She also wandered to the cooling cupboard and pulled out a bottle of milk that she filled his sippy cup with.

Walking back to Teddy's chair she placed everything in front of him, smacking Sirius's hand as he reached for a piece of broccoli. "Padfoot! Get off your bum and get your own" she admonished him with a fond smile on her face. Grumbling under his breath about evil little witches, he got up and wandered over to the counter and grabbed a plate of chicken fried rice and scooped on some general tso's chicken. Walking to the cooling cupboard he pulled out three bottles of butterbeer, placing them on the table he waved his hand and popped the tops off.

Hemione had wandered back over the counter and started piling up her own plate, she grabbed crab rangoon with a packet of sweet and sour sauce, a heaping pile of general tso's chicken, a small dish of steamed rice and a bowl of egg drop soup. Standing on her tip toes she placed a kiss to Remus's cheek "Thanks for buying dinner, but you know I'd have gladly cooked."

A smile crept onto his face "You had a big day, you didn't need to spend your time cooking mina-bird." Nodding she walked back to the table taking the seat between Sirius and Teddy, she leaned her head on Sirius's shoulder and began to eat her crab rangoon.

Sirius dropped a kiss to the top of her head, "so kitten, what's this that Remus was saying earlier? Your legislature got approved?" Hermione bolted up and he grinned when he saw the spark in her eyes as she dove into a lecture about how she had gotten it pushed through. His smile widened as he took in her features, long black curly hair, dark blue-green eyes, small button nose, a scattering of freckles dusted the bridge of it, full pink lips, she looked every bit the pureblood black princess. He would never regret the rash decision to blood adopt Hermione the summer before her 4th year.

* * *

 _ ***8 Years Ago***_

Hermione Granger was 14 years old, far old enough to cross through the wall at platform 9 ¾ to meet her muggle parents on the other side without an adult watching her, or so she told her two best friends Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley. She had parted from them after greeting the Weasley gang, Sirius and Remus as they crowded the platform waiting for the trio. She was so glad that Crookshanks had been there that night, she couldn't imagine what would have happened if Pettigrew had been able to get away after Remus turned. The smart half-kneazle had pounced on the fallen wand before Peter could get his hands on it to turn back into his rat form.

When professor Snape showed up, he immediately bound and gagged the traitor, Sirius in his padfoot form had already lured Moony away from the humans. After Snape escorted them all back to the castle, she was relieved to find the head Auror waiting in Dumbledore's office, she'd never forget the look of shock on his face when he realized who he was looking at. The long thought dead 4th marauder, who was supposedly murdered by none other than Sirius Black. A month later Sirius was a free man, regaining his fortune and taking his place as head of the Black family. His first act of being free was to legally regain custody of his godson, Harry, much to Dumbledore's dismay.

Hermione shook her head with a grin and walked through the wall, looking around for her parents who she knew would be waiting for her just like the last two years. She frowned a bit not seeing them in the crowds of people. Shrugging she headed to the car park outside, the place was busy and they probably just couldn't make it inside on time. As she walked about the car park she couldn't seem to find her parents car at all. 'Weird, they're not usually late...maybe I'll give them a call' she thought, spying a payphone across the way. She reached into her pocket and produced a couple muggle coins. Stepping up to the phone she made her call, it rang, and rang, finally reaching her parents answering machine. "You've reached the answering machine of Dr. and Dr. Granger, we are unable to come to the phone at this moment, please leave your name and a short message and we will get back to you, thank you"..."Mum? Dad? Anyone home? You seem to have forgotten to come get me...I'm just going to call a taxi ok? I love you, see you in a bit!"

She pressed the receiver cradle down to stop the current call before sliding another couple of coins in and calling a cab company, after giving them the pickup and the drop off address she sat down on a bench to wait. 25 minutes later she was pulling up in front of her parents modest two-story home. She paid the fare and climbed out of the car. Retrieving her luggage from the boot she sat crooks carrier down before letting him out, she laughed as he ran towards the back of the house, off to chase mice, she made her way inside only to freeze dropping her trunk in the doorway. There lying face down in the now ruined living room was her mother. She immediately pulled out her wand from her boot and took a step further in, looking at the prone form of her mother, the blood underneath her not even dried yet but she could tell she wasn't breathing, she touched her fingers to her neck but didn't find a pulse. Taking a deep breath to steel herself she moved slowly through the living room towards the kitchen, she stumbled into the wall after seeing her father's feet sticking out of the doorway. She couldn't take anymore, falling to her knees she lost her dinner on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.

Scrambling to her feet she bolted out of the house slamming the door behind her, not even thinking how she might look with her knees and hands covered in blood she continued on tripping on the curb, landing hard on her knees. Suddenly she heard a bang and before her was a giant, triple-decker, vividly purple bus. *"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Stan Shunkpike, and I will be your conductor this eve-*….bloody 'ell what happened to chu? What cha on the ground for?"

Hermione looked up, "how much to get to number 13 grimmauld place, London?" she choked out, ignoring his questions.

*"Eleven Sickles," said Stan "but for firteen you get 'ot chocolate, and for fifteen you get an 'ho-water bottle an' a toofbrush"* Hermione picked herself up, reached into her jeans pocket and pulled out eleven sickles, "Choose a seat, and 'old on tight" Stan told the little witch, Hermione just nodded and sat on the first spot she found.

With a bang the bus took off, a couple minutes later Stan announced "Numba 13 grimm-old place" Hermione nodded to Stan as she climbed off the bus, running across the street she banged on the door of the house only she could see since it was under a fidelius, as she waited for someone to answer a fresh round of tears started cascading down her face.

After what felt like hours the door finally creaked open, "Oh look, it's a filthy mudblood, oh if mistress was still alive and saw what the blood traitor was dragging in, oh my poor mistress" a grouchy old house elf mumbled from the crack in the door.

"Hello" Hermione sniffled, rubbing her runny nose on the sleeve of her jumper "is Sirius or Harry here?".

"The mudblood be talking to Kreacher like it's not beneath Kreacher..." a hand was sat on Kreacher's head and it somewhat roughly shoved him away from the door.

"Shut up Kreacher, Hermione?" Sirius poked his head out from around the door, taking in the 14-year-old girl in front of him, first thing he noticed was the blood caked on her knees. She wasted no time throwing herself into Sirius's arms sobbing uncontrollably while trying to explain what happened. "MOONY!" he hollered into the house. "You need to get down here now!" he ushered Hermione into the house, sitting her on the sofa he turned to the sound of footsteps banging down the stairs, Remus burst into the sitting room wand drawn and ready for a fight. When he noticed the bloody Hermione still sobbing on the sofa he froze.

"Hermione? What in the world are you doing here? How did you get here? Is that blood on your hands?" Remus had fired off the questions in such rapid succession that Hermione just sat there and blinked at him, unsure where to start. Sirius had since gone to the kitchen, made a pot of tea and had brought it out to her.

She accepted the cup and took a few sips trying to calm herself. "Mum and dad didn't come to Kings Cross to pick me up today." Hermione took another sip of her tea "So I wandered out to the car park to see if I could find their car, I didn't see it anywhere, so, I found a payphone and called home. No one answered, which was weird because if they were home mum would've answered. I left them a voicemail telling them I would take a taxi home, which I did. When I got there, I went inside and mum was" she paused to take another sip of tea and calm herself "was lying face first on the floor in the living room surrounded by a pool of blood. I pulled out my wand to go further into the house when I noticed my dads feet sticking out of the kitchen doorway, after that all I remember is showing up on the doorstep here."

Sirius and Remus glanced at each other over her head, "Kitten..." Sirius started "Kitten did you call the aurors or the muggle police?"

She just shook her head no, Remus sighed. "We are going to need to go back and call them. Do you think you can handle that?"

Hermione looked up at him, her lower lip trembling a little bit, "Do I have to go by myself?" she asked in a timid voice.

"Of course not! We will never let you face something like this alone, Sirius and I will go with you." Hermione bit her lip and nodded her head, finishing her tea she sat the cup on the coffee table and stood up.

"I'm just going to run to the loo and wash myself up, is Harry here?" as Remus answered in the affirmative and told her he was in his room, the 4th door on the right on the 2nd floor she wandered away.

Remus sighed and plopped heavily on the couch next to Sirius, "what are we going to do with her? She is a minor in our world and now has no legal guardian, she'll be a ward of the ministry and you know that isn't going to go well for her being a muggleborn and all." Sirius just made a non-committal noise, suddenly he bolted out of the room, coming back a couple minutes later with a book in hand.

"Here" he said pointing to a page.

"sanguis sanguinem mei" Remus read out loud "blood of my blood?" he raised a questioning brow towards Sirius.

"Yes! It's an old pureblood spell used when a couple couldn't conceive, they'd take whatever baby they find and use this spell to make them, biologically, theirs. It's not a dark spell but it definitely reaches into the grey, being blood magic and all" Sirius replied.

"Well how does this help Hermione?" a few seconds passed.

"Once the aurors have gone over the home, I'll bring her back here and I will do the spell, making her mine, no one would dare touch a princess of house black" Sirius smirked at the dumbfounded look on Remus's face.

"You would really do that? Put everything on hold that you've just gotten back to raise a teenage girl?" Remus asked.

"well, I've already done that taking Harry in haven't I? What's one more?" Sirius smiled, "besides, the chit needs someone, and I have more than enough means to take care of her and Harry, plus, Uncle Moony will be there every step of the way, isn't that right?"


	3. It's Over When It's Over

_**I do not own Harry Potter or Twilight. Those rights belong to JK Rowling and Stephanie Meyer respectively.**_

Chapter 2: It's Over when it's Over

 ***Still 8 years ago***

"Of course I will be there every step of the way Padfoot, I'd never leave those two to your whims" Remus quipped back a smile on his face. He had missed his friend so much over the last 12 years, he couldn't grasp how he ever believed that Sirius was the one to turn Lily and James over to Voldemort.

Sirius looked over and saw the look in Remus's eye, reaching over he gave him a one-armed hug "Moony I don't blame you ya know, I shouldn't have run off half-cocked after Hagrid took Harry"

Suddenly they heard footsteps coming down the stairs, turning to look they saw a cleaned-up Hermione dressed in a pair of Harry's sweatpants and a t-shirt of his, Harry trailing not too far behind her.

"Ok Hermione, we need to go back there and call the aurors are you ready?" Sirius put his hand out for her to take, she turned to Harry and gave him a big hug and said she'd see him later.

She reached over lacing her hand with Sirius's, she turned to look at Remus "You're coming too right?"

When he nodded a small smile lit up her face, not quite reaching her eyes. They told Harry to stay at the house and they'd be back as soon as they could.

They wandered out the front door and hailed the Knight Bus, they all started as it showed up with a pop "Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Stan Shunkpike, and I will be your conductor this eve...oh it's you again, well ya look betta" he nodded towards Hermione

"Corner of Heathgate and Meadway, Hampstead please" she mumbled back blushing a bit.

"Eleven Sickles, each" He held his hand out, Hermione went to reach in her pocket but Sirius's hand stopped her, she looked up and he shook his head while handing Stan the correct amount. "Choo' a seat and 'old on tight"

With a bang they took off, a few minutes later they were standing in front of her parent's house, Remus had gone in and checked to make sure no one was still there before sending a patronus to Kingsley to get the aurors here.

"I didn't notice and signs of dark magic, no dark mark above the house, it looks like this was a muggle robbery gone wrong." Remus muttered to Sirius, making sure Hermione couldn't hear. "Seems to me they were stabbed and bled out, their wedding rings are missing along with where I was assuming their tv was."

Sirius sighed and ran a hand over his face, "Kitten, when the aurors get here, they're going to want you to look around and see if anything is missing ok? I promise you won't go in there alone, I won't allow it."

Hermione sniffled a bit, rubbing her nose on her arm as she nodded to Sirius, when a crack in the air made Hermione jump. "It's just the aurors kitten, they aparated into your parents back garden so no muggles could see them." About that time Kingsley Shacklebolt came walking around the corner of the house flanked by four other aurors .

"Sirius, Remus, you said it was an emergency what's going on?" Kingsley's deep baritone rang out.

"Kings, this is Hermione Granger, Harry's best friend, her parents didn't show up to Kings Cross today to pick her up and when she got home after taking a cab, she walked in to find them murdered." A sharp intake of breath made Kingsley look down at the little witch.

"Hello Hermione, it's very nice to meet you, I just wish it was under better circumstances, do you mind if we go have a look around your house before you come in?" She shook her head no, biting her lip to try and keep the tears in. Sirius noticed and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her into his side.

King's motioned for the others to scope out the house "Kings, I did do a sweep and didn't find anyone else in there, I also didn't find any trace of dark magic, but we thought we should let you know just in case, her being a muggle born and all." Kingsley nodded at Remus before heading into the house himself. 15 minutes later he wandered back out, he informed Sirius and Remus that they were right, this was a muggle killing, not done by death eaters.

"Hermione dear, I need you to come in with us and tell us if anything is missing, can you do that?"

She looked up at Sirius and he held her hand nodding at her "I'm going in with her Kings, she isn't doing this alone." Kingsley agreed and led them into the house.

Hermione noted that her parents wedding rings were gone, along with her mum's silver locket that she has had since she was a girl, the tv and radio were missing and her mother's jewelry box. She had wandered into her room to find her music box, and some of her books were gone. Once she had compiled a list, she gave it to Kingsley, he had also asked for a list of friends and family explaining to her that they were going to be memory charmed to slowly forget about her and her parent's existence, and if there was anyone she didn't want that to happen to, she needed to make sure and mark them.

"Hermione you're going to have to come with us until we can find a placement for you, since you're technically a ward of the ministry right now." She looked up at him in shock and then looked back at Sirius.

"Kings, I'm taking her back to my place, she will be staying with me, Remus and Harry. I'm not letting her become a ward of the Ministry, not with everything that is going on."

Kingsley sighed and told them he would try and work it out with the ministry, but until then she could go with them. He waved them off and told them they'd deal with the muggle neighbors and cleanup.

Sirius pulled Hermione out of the house and back to Remus who was waiting in the back garden, "We need to get her back to my place and do the spell now, they are already talking about taking her."

Remus agreed, "Hermione have you ever side along apparated?" He asked, she shook her head no "Ok, well Sirius is going to take you and apparate back, it's going to feel weird like you're being sucked through a straw, I will meet you there with a stomach soother ok?" He didn't give her time to answer before he turned on the spot and disappeared.

Hermione gaped at the spot he was just standing in, she'd read about apparting in books but had never seen it done in person. "Magic is amazing" she breathed, Sirius chuckled and told her to hold on tight. Making sure she had a good grip on him and he had a good grip on her he spun on the spot and landed in front of 12 Grimmauld place just outside the fidelius but still within the muggle repelling wards.

Hermione had her hands on her knees and was breathing heavily trying not to throw up, suddenly there was a potions vial in front of her labeled stomach soother, she gratefully took it. After a few seconds the potion had the desired effect and she slowly stood up straight.

"It gets better over time Kitten, plus once you can apparate on your own it's much better." Sirius grinned before walking into the house, "Harry! We are back! I want you to show Hermione to the room next to yours, that can be hers for her stay here" a wink towards Remus made the werewolf grin. After the two teenagers had disappeared upstairs and Sirius made sure they were out of earshot. "Moony, what all do we need for that potion."

Remus grabbed the book and started reading the list, "I believe you have everything here in the potions lab in the basement, it takes 2 hours to brew so you may want to get on it before Kingsley comes to collect her. I'm going to go back and see if I can't get Hermione some clothes and grab her trunk, did you happen to see Crookshanks when we were there?"

"Nope, I hope the cat's ok, he was a lot of help when I was hiding out by the school, you know he's the one who got me the password list from Neville right?"

Remus just chuckled and started towards the front door, as soon as he opened it a streak of orange fur bolted in. "Bloody hell! Crookshanks?!" Remus saw the spitting mad cat make a dash for the stairs before he heard a happy squeal.

"Crooks! O darling, I forgot you when I left so suddenly, I'm so sorry baby, maybe Sirius has a can of tuna, would you like that?"

Remus shook his head with a fond smile and left. Sirius had wandered down to the lab in the basement and had made headway on the potion when the wards alerted him that someone was coming in the kitchen door. He walked back up the stairs making sure to ward the basement door, walking into the kitchen he saw none other than Dumbledore sitting at his kitchen table drinking a cup of tea.

"What brings you out Albus?" Sirius wasn't too happy seeing the old fool sitting there. He still hadn't forgiven him for not getting him a trial, plus he fought him on getting Harry back.

"I heard from a little birdy that Miss Granger is staying here, you know any student that doesn't have a magical guardian after their parents pass is automatically a ward of the ministry and as such should be held at the ministry until further notice." Dumbledore had that stupid twinkle in his eye as he informed Sirius of this, he was really growing to hate that twinkle.

"I realize this but you must understand that Hermione has gone through a very traumatic experience and she needs to be around people she knows and trusts."

Dumbledore merely smiled and told Sirius that he would be glad to take Miss Granger under his wing. When Sirius declined the offer and asked him as politely as he could to leave, the twinkle in his eye diminished and he stood up in anger.

"She will be coming to the Ministry one way or another, I will be back to collect her and her things when Kingsley shows up."

With a final nod to Sirius he turned on the spot and disappeared. Sirius let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding and jumped when a small voice rang out from behind him.

"Do I really have to leave?" Hermione had apparently come downstairs to get something to drink and overheard the conversation. "Am I imposing on you being here? O I knew I shouldn't have come but I couldn't think of anywhere else but here." tears started welling up in her eyes again.

"No kitten, you are always more than welcome here, I'm also working on a plan to make it so you never have to leave and the old codger won't be able to do anything about it, why don't you come down to the lab with me, I think it's time we had a little talk."

She followed him downstairs to the potions lab and he pulled out the book he had been using, "Hermione there is a very old and somewhat grey magic spell and potion in here, it's called sanguis sanguinem mei, it basically means blood of my blood, and what it would do is change your DNA to match mine, you would biologically be my daughter and an heiress of house Black, neither Dumbledore nor the Ministry could take you away from Harry and I, I've started brewing the potion today in case you would be interested in doing this."

Her eyes had widened to comical proportions. "What all does the potion entail?"

"All you'd have to do is put 3 drops of blood into my vial and I'd put three drops into yours and while we drink them Remus would cast sanguis sanguinem mei and you would be mine. That way no one could make you leave us."

Hermione had started reading over the potion in the book, it didn't seem dark, and she knew in her heart she didn't want to be separated from the boy she thought of as her little brother. "Okay, I want to do this. When will it be finished?"

Sirius perked up and told her it'll be done brewing in 30 minutes and had to be consumed within an hour of being finished. She nodded slightly and told him she wanted to go talk to Harry. He agreed that he should have a say in this since he didn't blood adopt him this way and they didn't want him to feel jealous.

Of course, Harry was ecstatic that Hermione would be Sirius's daughter and wouldn't have to leave them, he knew Sirius would blood adopt him if needed but since he was the Potter heir and had a magical guardian there was really no point and he obviously loved him like his own anyway. 40 minutes later Hermione, Sirius, Remus and Harry were all gathered in the kitchen. Sirius raised a silver dagger to his forearm, he made a cut and let three drops fall into Hermione's vial. He corked it and handed it to her to shake four times. The color turned black with spots of silver. "Kitten give me your arm and I'm sorry this will hurt a bit, I'll heal it as soon as the spell is through ok?" She mutely held her right forearm out and winced and he made a small cut, watching as three drops of her blood fell into his vial. He corked his and gave it four shakes, marveling at the vivid purple color it had taken along with gold streaked through.

"Now you two need to drink, Hermione first, then Sirius." Hermione took a deep breath and uncorked the vial, she took a delicate sniff and realized it smelled of cherries, she raised the vial towards Sirius and Harry who was sat at the table behind him and she upended the vial downing it all at once. (Blood of my blood, you are mine, I am yours until the end of time) "Sanguis sanguinem mei meus es tu, tuus sum usque ad consummationem saeculi" Remus chanted as she finished, Sirius repeated the gesture to her and he uncorked and downed the vial in his hand."Sanguis sanguinem mei meus es tu, tuus sum usque ad consummationem saeculi".

"So mote it be" Hermione and Sirius called out together. They all held their breath when suddenly a golden glow came from Hermione, a matching silver came from Sirius.

Harry gasped as the glow suddenly brightened, the silver reaching out and surrounding Hermione's golden glow till it was no more. He watched enthralled as her bushy brown hair turned into sleek black ringlets, the rest of her baby fat seemed to have melted away and when he looked at her face, her nose was almost the same shape just a little smaller, her freckles remained, her lips became fuller and her lashes darker and longer. Her eyes opened and he saw they were no longer the color of fire whiskey, they had turned a deep green-blue, much darker than Sirius's grey.

The glow suddenly dimmed and Sirius opened his eyes to see the new Hermione. She could be his spitting image in female form except the eyes. He couldn't believe it, he has a daughter! Hermione shyly asked if someone could get her a mirror and Remus conjured one up. A slight gasp fell from her lips as she took in her new look.

She turned to Sirius and Harry with tears in her eyes, this time from happiness. "Thank you thank you thank you! Thank you for not casting me out and for making me a real member of your family!" She gave them both a big hug before turning to Remus and doing the same thing.

Suddenly the wards tripped and Sirius and Remus were in front of the kids with wands drawn watching the kitchen door. It opened and in walked Kingsley and Dumbledore, "Sirius it's time for us to take Hermione to the ministry so we can see about finding her a magical guardian." Kingsley's deep voice sounded sad.

"I'll gladly fight to be her guardian Mr. Shacklebolt." replied Dumbledore with that damn twinkle back in his eye.

Sirius and Remus smirked at each other, "Actually sirs, there is no need for that" Remus stated.

"And why not? The girl has no magical guardian and no family left." Dumbledore replied.

"Actually professor, she does now." Sirius quipped back,

"and who pray tell would that be Mr. Black?" Kingsley asked,

"Me, I used the sanguis sanguinem mei, potion and spell on her, with her permission, and she is now legally and biologically my daughter and you cannot and will not touch her or take her Dumbledore, she is the Heiress Black from here on out."

* * *

 ***Present Time***

Hermione was cleaning up the kitchen from dinner, Remus was upstairs giving Teddy a bath, how that child managed to get more food on himself than in himself she'll never know. A fond smile came over her face when she looked out into the living room, Sirius was reading a motorcycle magazine, he got his back from Hagrid after he became free. Hermione was finally coming around to riding on it, flying on it was another matter completely. She couldn't have asked for a better family to help her through the grieving stage after her parents had died.

It had been decided that it was a muggle home invasion gone wrong. Her parents hadn't left when they said they were to go get Hermione because her dad had needed to do an emergency root canal and they were running late. Two men had broken in thinking it was an empty house and stumbled upon the Grangers, what would have been just a robbery turned into a double homicide. Her parents had been stabbed multiple times and were left bleeding out on the floor while the men took everything of value they could find. The aurors had put out feelers to the nearby pawn shops and had located one of the men responsible. He was an 18-year-old from a bad family, he quickly gave up his friend and the aurors had regained all of the Grangers belongings and gave them back to Hermione. Although Kingsley had informed Sirius that he suspected the boys had been imperiused, but he had no proof.

She finished in the kitchen and walked out to the living room, "Sirius? I'm going to leave Ron, I'll go home tomorrow and get the rest of my stuff, and come back here, is that ok?"

He had looked up from his magazine when Hermione said his name. "Of course kitten, do you need me to go with you to get it?"

She chewed her lip thinking, shaking her head "No, even if Ronald is there, he won't hurt me."

Sirius shrugged, "you know how to get ahold of me if something happens."

She nodded grasping the charm bracelet around her wrist, it had been a gift from Sirius but it was invented by the Weasley twins, it was charmed with an unbreakable charm and only she could take it off. It had different charms that did different things, there was an emergency shrunken broom, charms that would tell her location if she was in trouble, a wolf head for Remus, a lightning bolt for Harry and a paw print for Sirius. There was also a cat head that if Hermione felt unsafe would cast a strong protego bubble around her, one of the charms was her little beaded bag, all she had to do was pull on it three times and it would come off and return to normal. The last two charms were ingenious, they were spare wands, she still had her main one but you never know when you might need a new one, she had learned that the hard way.

"Goodnight Sirius!" She leaned down and pressed a kiss to his cheek, "Thank you again for everything you've done for me, I don't think I'd be here if it wasn't for you."

He smiled and shooed her off to bed. He sat up for a few more hours reading his magazines and contemplating ways to get rid of Ron Weasley without anyone knowing it was him. At around 11:30p. he wandered up the stairs, only to stop by Hermione's room when he heard muffled crying. Knocking on the door, he gently pushed it open, "Kitten? Are you ok?" He looked in to see her curled up on her bed.

"Oh kitten, it'll be okay" he said walking over and sitting next to her, he started running his hand over her curls which were pulled back in a neat braid.

"I just don't understand why he would do this to me? I don't care that he's gay! I would've been happy for him! Why did he have to lie and cheat?" she hiccuped lightly.

"well, what I've learned about Ronald Weasley over the years is he is he only cares about himself. He probably thought it would be frowned upon for him to be gay so the best alternative was to marry you as a cover."

Hermione sat up abruptly, "I refuse to be sad about this any longer, it's dumb, he's made his choice, I'm making mine, I'm done, tomorrow I'm going over like I said, but after that I'm going away for a while, I think. Maybe take a trip for a year or so." she mused out loud.

Sirius sat there staring at her, "where would you go kitten?" He didn't want her to leave but he knew she needed a fresh start.

"I have an estranged uncle in America whom I haven't seen since I was about 10, come to think of it I shouldn't have included him in the list to have their memories modified, but I hadn't seen him in years so I didn't think I ever would again. I'm thinking maybe I could go there, I've heard rumors of a coven of vegetarian vampires living in his town, there are no records of vegetarian vampires anywhere in our systems! It would be a once in a lifetime chance to study them!"

Sirius frowned, he didn't like the idea of his daughter being anywhere near vampires, vegetarian or not. "What if, and hear me out kitten, what if I went with you? I don't want you left all by yourself in a different country."

Hermione smiled "Papa, I'm 22 years old, I think I can take care of myself, besides Remus, Teddy and Harry need you here!"

Sitting on the edge of her bed Sirius took in the form of his daughter, she had certainly grown from the tiny witch he had adopted. She had stopped calling him papa around the time she got engaged to Ron, it was nice to hear it from her again. She now stood at a towering 5'4" and her hair reached her waist, she had really grown into the looks that were forced on her during the change.

"What if we all went with you? Remus, Teddy and me? I'm sure Remus would go! Andromeda has been talking about traveling with Michael anyway, she never got to before marrying Ted and having Nymphadora." Sirius smirked at the use of Tonks' full name, he just knew she was rolling in her grave wanting to come haunt him. Andromeda had started dating a man by the name of Michael Droops, a muggleborn she had met at the park while she was there with Teddy, he just happened to be there with his grandkids.

"What about Harry?" She asked,

"Harry has been doing fine, him and Luna are going strong although I don't see marriage in the near future with the way she travels, you know Harry loves being the DADA professor! He'd be ecstatic for us to move!" That had come as a surprise to everyone except Hermione, Harry declined the offer to become and Auror and instead continued on to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts, since Voldemort was dead the curse on the job was broken and Headmistress McGonagall was ecstatic to have him as the professor, she had tried hard to get Hermione to get her mastery in transfiguration so she could take over when Minnie was ready but Hermione had much grander plans.

Hermione mulled it over, "You convince Remus, Harry and Andromeda and I will gladly let you come with me!" She had made up her mind, Forks, Washington here she comes!


	4. Self-destruct Personality

_**I do not own Harry Potter or Twilight. Those rights belong to JK Rowling and Stephanie Meyer respectively.**_

 _ **Shout out again to my best friend and Beta Starkiss666**_

 _ **Authors Note:**_

 _ **I am so sorry for the delay, this is a shorter chapter as my work life has just been hella busy! Expect this story to be on sporadic updates until finished! I hope you enjoy! As always, constructive criticisms are welcome!**_

* * *

The next day Hermione found herself standing in the bedroom she had shared with Ronald. It had been a good day, she had been given a small going away party that morning after she had informed her boss of her decision to go to America. Now, standing in this room again, she couldn't believe she ever thought herself happy. Looking back, she thought about all the fights, the lonely nights when Ron didn't come home. Shaking her head, she started shrinking all the furniture that was hers, placing everything into boxes that she was sending to storage. She continued through the house packing pictures, toiletries, and other little knick-knacks.

Any pictures that were of her and Ron she banished up to the bedroom. Once she had completed packing everything that was hers from the house and piled all the boxes in the foyer, she wandered back up to the bedroom. Standing there staring at the bed, 'that was MY bed, I bought it' she thought, she really didn't want to take it with her but she didn't want to leave it for him to use either. She glanced at the pile of pictures on the bed with a frown. Making up her mind she pulled out her wand, "Reducto!" she shouted, smiling in triumph as she watched pieces of the bed fly everywhere, stuffing and shredded pictures rained down like confetti.

She wandered back downstairs leaving the mess for Ron to clean up. She knew it was petty but she was too caught up in the feeling of contentment to care. She shrunk the boxes she was going to be taking with her and put them in her little beaded bag, the rest she sent to the storage locker she had rented before coming home this morning. She walked into the kitchen and used a permanent sticking charm to put up a note she had written for Ron, detailing every single reason she was leaving and stating how she wasn't coming back. As she headed for the front door she stopped and took a final look around, she was going to miss this place. So many memories, good and bad. A sigh fell from her lips as she flung open the front door.

A smile plastered on her face she turned on the spot and disappeared. Seconds later she landed in Godric's Hollow. Sirius had sold Grimmauld Place years ago after buying a cottage that sat on 12 acres of land, naming it Lupin Cottage for Remus. After the end of the war, Remus and Sirius had helped Harry restore his parent's cottage. Luna had recently moved in with him, after they had been together for the last year. She didn't bother knocking as she walked in the front door.

"Harry?" she called into the house as she hung her jacket on a hook behind the door.

"In the kitchen!" he yelled back, she smiled and made her way to the kitchen.

"Have you spoken to Sirius yet?" she questioned as she plopped down beside him at the table.

"I have, and I have given him my blessing to follow you to America." Harry looked at his sister with sadness in his eyes. "You're really going to be leaving me, aren't you?" he asked.

"Oh Harry, you know I'm not leaving YOU, I just need to get out of England for a while. After everything that's happened, I feel I deserve a break."

Harry nodded, "I can't believe Ron did that to you! I am still so angry I just want to go rip his head off, you heard Molly is on his side, didn't you?"

Hermione sighed and nodded, "I figured she would be, you know Ronniekins can do no wrong."

Harry snorted at the nickname Molly had dubbed Ron with so many years ago, "Well, the rest of the Weasleys are on your side, none of them could believe he did that to you instead of just coming clean. It's not like any of them would've judged him either."

Hermione just shrugged, "oh well, it's done and over and I'm moving on." A smile tugged at her lips, "Have you heard if Sirius has convinced Remus to go too?"

"No clue, all he did was come barging over here at about 6am waking me up and begging me for my blessing to follow you, it's the summer hols I should get to sleep in just as much as the students!"

Hermione laughed at the petulant expression on his face. "Oh Harry, there's never any rest for the wicked." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and bid him goodbye. After grabbing her jacket, she walked into his living room and grabbed a handful of floo powder. "Lupin Cottage!" She stumbled out of the fireplace and stood up straight brushing the soot off her. "Remus? Sirius?" She yelled out,

"Mina, Mina!" was all she heard before a turquoise blur slammed into her legs almost knocking her over.

Looking down she laughed "Teddy-bear! Look at your face! Have you been getting into daddies' chocolate again?" Teddy had the decency to look somewhat ashamed as he nodded his head.

She scooped him up, "now where are daddy and padfoot?". She followed the toddlers pointed finger to the library. As she walked through the door, she noticed the two of them deep in discussion, slowly backing out she held her finger to her lips shushing Teddy.

"While they are busy why don't we go get you cleaned up and change your shirt? You seem to have gotten more chocolate on there than in you." she poked his tummy and made him giggle. With a smile she headed for Teddy's room to get him some clean clothes.

* * *

"You want me to drop everything I have here and move to America with you?"

Sirius rubbed his hand over his face, "I don't want Hermione moving to America by herself, she's going to study vampires Moony, fucking vampires! I don't want her anywhere near them let alone by herself! She won't let me go unless I get you to agree!"

Remus frowned, "I can't just leave Andromeda you know."

Sirius nodded, "I know that! You know she's been talking about traveling with Michael, this just gives her the golden opportunity!"

Remus nodded, scratching his chin, "Let me talk to Andy, if she agrees then I don't see why we couldn't go, Mina needs a break and Merlin knows I can't stand you without her."

Sirius grinned, "You love me and you know it, you would be lost without me Moony".

Remus sighed with a smile, silently agreeing with his friend. About that time there was a knock on the door and they turned to see Hermione poking her head in.

"I bathed Teddy and got him changed, Remus you might want to check your chocolate supply, also Andy is here and wants to have a word with the two of you, Teddy is with her she says she has some news for you." She gave them another smile and headed back down the stairs.

"I wonder what Andy has to tell us." Sirius muttered to him as they followed Hermione out. Walking down the stairs they saw Hermione playing trains with Teddy while Andromeda was perched on the couch sipping a cup of tea. Noticing the men on the stairs she sat the cup down and stood up gracefully, walking over she let Sirius kiss both her cheeks followed by Remus. She sat back down, smoothing out her skirt and crossing her legs at the ankles.

"Boys, I needed to tell you something important." she stopped to take another dainty sip of tea, "Michael has asked for my hand in marriage, I accepted, we will be having a bonding ceremony the day after tomorrow and I would like you three boys to walk me down the aisle and Hermione, I would like you to stand as my maid of honor and do the binding."

Everyone's jaws dropped except Teddy who was oblivious to anything but his green train, his hair had turned the exact shade of green the engine was, "You want me to be your maid of honor?" Hermione stood up and walked over to Andy sitting next to her on the couch, "What about Narcissa?".

Andy pursed her lips, "Our relationship has been mended but she is still sore about the fact that I have chosen yet another muggle-born and not a well-off pure-blooded widower. Thus, I would be so grateful if you would step into this role?"

Hermione nodded with tears in her eyes, "Of course I will Andromeda, I would be honoured".

Andy smiling indulgently at her, squeezing her hand before turning to the two men in the room. "Well boys, I would appreciate it if you would pick your jaws up, it's very unbecoming of two attractive young men." Both their jaws snapped shut with an audible click, they glanced at each other before looking back at her.

"Of course, the three of us will walk you down the aisle Andy!" exclaimed Sirius, "we wouldn't miss it for the world!" He hugged her tightly, Remus nodded along,

"Yes, Andy I also had something I wanted to discuss with you, do you think we could retire to the kitchen for a minute?" He shot a pointed look to Sirius switching between him and Hermione, realization dawned on Sirius's face and he nodded subtly.

Hermione watched as they walked into the kitchen, turning to Sirius she crossed her arms, "You convinced him to talk to Andy didn't you." He just gave her a smug little grin and shrugged his shoulders before picking Teddy up and tossing him in the air, relishing in the giggles he drew out of the tiny metamorphmagus. Minutes passed as Hermione and Sirius played with Teddy, finally after what felt like forever Andy and Remus came back both with little smiles on their faces.

"Well Mina bird, it seems we'll be leaving for America with you." Sirius let out a whoop or joy making Teddy giggle and clap.

Hermione just shook her head in fond exasperation, "Andy, you really don't mind them leaving with me?"

The older witch just smiled and shook her head, "I'm going to travel a bit with Michael, we may even take a week of two and stop by Washington! Besides, you're only going to be a floo away I'm sure since the boys are moving with you, you won't be staying with your uncle will you?"

Hermione hadn't even thought about where she would live if the boys went with her. She shook her head and said they'd decide the living arrangements after tomorrow's wedding. With that the two women swept off grabbing Teddy as they went, they had much to do after all. Andy needed a new dress, as did Hermione, the men could use their simple black dress robes, Teddy also needed a set of robes as he'd grown out of the last set they had bought him. "You're really okay with the boys coming with me? I just want to be sure you're not just saying that to appease Sirius."

Andy laughed a tinkling little laugh, "dearest I promise I'm ready to have my own life, as much as I love having Remus, Teddy and Sirius around at all times, I feel the need to do something for myself again."

They wandered outside and Hermione watched as Andromeda made sure she had a good grip on Teddy before she popped out of existence, she quickly followed suit and landed just inside Diagon Alley. The trio wandered to Madam Malkins as she had started carrying some muggle influenced designs, Hermione took over minding Teddy as Andromeda started browsing through the designer dresses. Teddy was enjoying making his hair look like Hermione's, something he had just recently mastered, when a sudden noise from the doorway of the shop caught her attention.

"Hermione! I know I saw her duck in here" a deep frown formed on her face when she recognized the voice, turning she quickly spotted Andromeda and rushed to her side.

"Andy, Ron is here, can we go get ice cream or something and come back later?" Andromeda's eyes narrowed and a dangerous looking scowl marred her beautiful face, it's times like these that it's easy to tell she's still a Black.

"Nonsense dear, we shall see what he wants." Andromeda replied, squaring her shoulders and straightening her back.

"Mione'!" she heard him call again, rolling her eyes she followed Andromeda's example, straightening herself up and masking her emotions. "Mione, I've been trying to find you forever! Why won't you answer my owls?"

A look of confusion passed through Hermione's eyes before the mask slid back into place, Andromeda gave an imperious sniff, "I am sure, Ronald, that you knew exactly where Miss Granger would be residing if not in her home."

Ron turned to her with a glare, "This has nothing to do with you Tonks, stay out of it." He turned back to Hermione with a grin, only for it to fade at the look of loathing on her face. "Mione someone broke into our home and took all our stuff! The bed was blown to bits!"

Hermione's face contorted into a scowl, "You will address Andromeda with the respect she deserves Ronald, I know your mother raised you with better manners than that! Furthermore, did you not even look at the cooling cupboard Weasley? I know you did, you can't go three minutes without food you bloody oaf! I know you saw the note and you know I was the one who took my things and destroyed MY bed, now if you'll excuse me, Andy and I have some shopping to accomplish and I am done discussing our private life in public, good day." With a sniff worthy of a Malfoy she turned on her heel following Andromeda to the back of the store where the fitting rooms were, knowing Ron wouldn't follow her back there. "Andy I'm sorry if he ruined your shopping today, I didn't even think we may run into him here, he's supposed to be at work until 6." A quick tempus showed it was only 4:45.

"Not at all, I'm glad you put him in his place, I was about to use one of my families more, unsavory, jinxes to get him to leave you alone, I ought to have a word with his mother about his manners, or lack thereof. Now dear, I was thinking a royal blue would look beautiful with your coloring, myself I'm looking for more of a champagne colour."

Two hours later they had both found the perfect dresses and gotten Teddy a handsome set of robes, black with a blue cravat and silver fasteners. Hermione's dress was a beautiful royal blue, one shoulder with a lace inset along her waist, it was floor length with a slit that went to just above her knee. Andomeda's was a structured duchess satin mermaid dress, in a soft champagne, it had a grosgrain sash and cap sleeves with layers of hand beaded appliques it had a slight train that trailed behind her when she walked.

Having sent their purchases ahead to Andromeda's the women decided to stop by Fortescue's for a scoop of ice cream each before heading back to Remus's cottage. Hermione and Andromeda parted ways after ice cream, with a kiss to the check and a sloppy kiss from Teddy, Andromeda apparated home. Hermione followed suit after making sure she had a secure hold on Teddy. Apparating into the back yard of Lupin cottage she strolled inside and sat Teddy down in the living room, "Sirius? Remus? We are home!" She yelled into the house, having heard their faint whispers upstairs. A few seconds later footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs.

"Did you gals get everything you needed?" Remus asked smiling as Teddy ran to his father for cuddles.

"We did" Hermione confirmed, "did you all get your robes out of storage?"

With a nod from the boys she gave them an indulgent smile.

"Kitten I have something that I need your opinion on." She suddenly realized Sirius had his hands held behind his back.

"Oookayy" she drew out the word wondering exactly what he had planned. She watched as he pulled a velvet box from behind him.

"Remus and I snuck to Gringotts and got this out of the black vault, I want to give it to Andy to wear for the wedding, since she didn't get one for her first." He opened the box and showed her a beautiful coronet. It had many diamonds set in silver with 10 sapphires set in gold, it matched her engagement ring from Michael perfectly.

"Oh, Papa it's beautiful!" Hermione gasped, "It matches her ring perfectly! She will love it! It also gives her the something old, borrowed, and blue!"

Sirius nodded before closing the box, "then it's settled, I'll give it to her tomorrow, you just need to make sure her hairstyle will work with it!"

Remus rolled his eyes knowing full well Andy would wear it no matter the hairstyle. Hermione gave them all a huge grin. "This is going to be the start of a very big and amazing adventure for all of us, I love you Papa, you too Remus."

Teddy toddled up to her, "Me too Mina? I wuv you."

"Of course, Teddy-bear, you're my number one." She scooped him up and kissed his nose before hugging him close and looking at her odd yet perfect family.

* * *

 ** _For the outfits in this story please go to_**

 ** _www dot pinterest dot com slash darkerthanthedarksideofthemoon_**


	5. Authors Note

**Authors note:**

 **It has been brought to my attention that the links I posted did not work, to remedy this I have made a pinterest account just for the purpose of story outfits, etc that I feel people should see!**

 _ **www dot pinterest dot com slash darkerthanthedarksideofthemoon**_

 **Obviously you'll have to type in the address properly in your browser but I hope this helps!**

 **Big thank you to: Lauramicha for pointing this out to me!**


	6. Life Starts Now

**I do not own Harry Potter nor Twilight! All rights to the respective authors. This is an AU and may not follow the exact timeline, so if something isn't made in the actual time of the series i don't care.**

 **Shout out to my best friend and beta starkiss666**

 **As always constructive criticism is welcome**

 **There is a pinterest page for this story under Arya Raven**

 **Please enjoy!**

* * *

Two days later Hermione was up at the crack of dawn, she had made all of the last-minute arrangements for Andromeda's quick wedding, she hated using her name but this was for a good cause so she was happy to do it and almost everyone was happy to help her. She had gotten the cake, Andy's bouquet, a beautiful cascading creation of blue tinted and purple orchids intertwined with white casablanca lilies, Hermione would be carrying a smaller version of the bouquet while Remus, Sirius and Teddy all had matching white casablanca lilies attached to their robes, Michael would have a matching orchid.

The wedding and reception would be held in Michaels back yard, he had a beautiful garden with a small fountain that the ceremony would take place in front of, the reception itself would be held in the yard, a tent had been set up much like the one used for Bill and Fleur's wedding all those years ago. It was the perfect mixture of muggle and wizarding customs. Hermione thought it was lovely that Andromeda was using a muggle inspired dress while Michael was wearing traditional wizarding robes, they were also doing traditional muggle vows but with the magical binding.

Hermione sighed in relief as she checked off the last thing on her carefully thought out checklist. She felt arms wrap around her from behind, "Kitten you need to take a break, you only have about an hour before Ginny and Luna get here to help you and Andromeda with makeup and hair." She squeaked when she was suddenly lifted into the air and onto his shoulder.

"Sirius you let me down right this instant!" she slapped him on the back, he just laughed and headed out the door, depositing her on a stool in the kitchen. Remus placed a plate with a sandwich and her favourite salt and vinegar chips in front of her, followed by a bottle of muggle peach fizzy water.

She glared at both men but realized it was futile because they were just as stubborn as she was. Sighing with an eye roll she picked up the sandwich and took a bite. After swallowing she took a sip of the water, and turned to glare at them again, "happy now? I've eaten, I need to go to Michael's and make sure everything is where it needs to be!"

The men shared a look, "Kitten, Harry, Fred and George are all there making sure everything is set up to your exact specifications, along with Mr. Weasley. Everything there will be the picture of perfection for Andy. Bill, Charlie and Neville are with Michael making sure he is ready for everything. Fleur, Ginny and Luna are picking up Andromeda from the spa and then they will be here, when they get here, we will stop by Michael's and make sure everything is right before heading to Harry's and getting ready, does that sound okay?"

Hermione visibly deflated, picking up a crisp and popping it in her mouth, she chewed quietly for a minute, "I'm sorry I'm so obsessive, I just want everything to be perfect for her! We are leaving for Washington the night of the wedding, then they leave for their trip...I just want this last memory of us before everything changes to be perfect." She started in on the sandwich finally giving into the fact that she'd been starving for the past few hours but had refused to stop and eat. Remus noticed it was almost done and went to the counter and grabbed her a second one, she shot him a thankful smile between bites.

"Mina bird, I know you want everything to be perfect but trust me, it will be, if only because all of us are together." Remus kissed her head and wandered out at the quiet noise of Teddy fussing. She was slightly jealous of his werewolf hearing, given her animagus form she also had heightened senses, but nowhere near the level of Remus.

Turning to Sirius she snatched the last half of her sandwich out of his hands with a snarl. "Padfoot! No stealing my food!"

He just snorted and stole a handful of crisps from the plate, popping a few in his mouth he sat back to look at his daughter, "Kitten? Do you actually want Remus and I to follow you to America?" He watched as her eyes widened and she looked up at him.

"Of course I want you guys to come, I can't picture moving there without you now Papa!" She sat down the last of her sandwich and walked over to him, leaning into his chest and laying her head on his shoulder, "I never wanted to leave you and when you started fighting to come with me I realized that I didn't want to move without you, it was just too amusing to watch you scramble to get permission from everyone that I just decided not to tell you!"

He felt her face morph into a grin and chuckled silently, "you sneaky little kitten, we've made a marauder out of you! What a bad influence Moony has been over the years!"

Hermione scoffed as she pulled away, grin still in place, "Moony has been a bad influence? Moony? Puh-lease papa, you know it was all Harry!" Turning around to grin at the man who had tried to sneak into the kitchen behind them.

Harry held his hands up, "I hate when you do that Hermione! Damn you and those senses of yours!" Hermione just stuck her tongue out at him.

"Should've finished your animagus training with me when Professor McGonagall was teaching us." He just rolled his eyes, this wasn't the first time they've had the discussion about him not finishing their training.

"Yes well, some of us aren't such over achievers that we managed to find out a powerful enough witch or wizard could have more than one form!"

It was her turn to roll her eyes, that was always his argument when it came to this discussion, yes, she was the first and only witch or wizard (so far!) to have more than one animagus form, she had spent the past 2 years studying with Minerva in her limited free time. She had gotten the glimpse of her first form only a few days into the meditation stage. After transforming for the first time a month later she went back to the books to research anything else she could do, finding nothing after the transformation stage she went to McGonagall. The witch in question had informed her that she doesn't think anyone has thought to go past the first transformation other than to practice switching skins. So, Hermione, ever the dedicated pupil, decided to give it a shot, she went back through all the steps, she got to the meditative state again and realized that the form she was finding was completely different than her first form, her wolf, this one had feathers. It took her a little over a year to finally transform into the second animal, a huge golden eagle.

She couldn't believe it, neither could McGonagall or anyone else in her family, until she showed them. She has gone to the Ministry and they had named the second transformation after her, Granger's Study (Granger-Black was such a mouthful), any witch or wizard that would like to attempt to have more than one animagus form needed to present their reasoning's to the Wizengamont for approval, those found worthy of the training would be sent to McGonagall who would assign them to tutors within the walls of Hogwarts so they could be kept under a watchful eye for the duration of their study.

"Now Harry, why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be with Fred and George making sure everything was set up?" Hermione crossed her arms under her chest and glared at him, tapping her foot.

He held his hands up again in surrender, "it's all exactly to your specifications Hermione, I promise, the reason I am here though is I got an owl during the set up." She softened her glare into a look of curiosity.

"What was the owl about? Please don't tell me it was Ron or worse Mrs. Weasley?" Shaking his head, he gestured for her to sit down.

"No, nothing of the sort." He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a shrunken stack of paper, 'these, are the forms you need to sign to finish your transfer to America, they were addressed to you care of me, according to the note attached addressed to me, the owls they sent to you couldn't seem to find you." He raised an inquisitive brow towards her and Sirius.

"That's the second time that's been said to me! Ronald said the same thing yesterday!" a small sound came from behind her, it sounded like a growl and she spun to look at Sirius.

"When, exactly, were you going to inform me that you ran into Ronald fucking Weasley?" he ground out through clenched teeth, "Or were you planning on keeping it a secret?"

She glanced back at Harry who didn't look much happier than Sirius but he was at least keeping his mouth shut. "When Andromeda and I went to go get dresses for us and robes fitted for Teddy he must have seen me entering the shop and he followed us in, Andromeda and I took care of it and it's fine, nothing else happened."

Sirius sighed and raked a hand through his hair, "I know you're not a child kitten, you and Andromeda would wipe the floor with him, hell Teddy could, but you're my little girl, have been since the moment I adopted you, I would do anything for you and I just want to protect you."

Hermione gave him a small smile and a quick hug, "I love you too papa but I promise he didn't do anything and he won't do anything."

Nodding he glanced at the clock on the wall, "the girls should be here any minute, hurry up and sign the papers we will send them off and then Harry and I will go make sure everyone is dressed and ready okay?"

Hermione nodded, signing the papers and heading to the kitchen window, opening it she gave a little whistle and watched as a dark streak came out of the tree line and fluttered to a stop on the sill, her owl Nyx, she was a barn owl who had been at the Magical Menagerie for a few years as her coloring was not normal, she had melanism, the darkening of body parts, so instead of the usual white facial feathers she had dark brown and black feathers, she immediately took a shine to Hermione, hooting at her till she had her attention, Hermione couldn't help but buy her. She wasn't exactly a familiar like her Crooks was but it helped fill the hole in her heart that was left there after Crooks had passed a yea ago. "There's my beautiful girl, I have a parcel here I need you to take to the Ministry, think you can do that?" a small hoot and an affectionate nip to her finger was the response she got, she stroked the feathers on her head a bit and gave her a treat before tying the package to her leg and watching her fly off. As she watched the owl turn into a speck in the sky a sudden thought occurred to her.

Turning to her father she placed her hands on her hips, "now explain to me Sirius, exactly why I have not been receiving any mail?"

Amusement danced in her eyes and she watched Sirius grab the last of her sandwich and the back of Harry's collar, "sorry kitten, duty calls, see you in a bit!" he rushed the words out before darting out the door dragging a frazzled Harry behind him. A couple small pops were the only signs that they had left. Seconds later the fireplace roared to life and Fleur stepped out, looking as immaculate as always, how she managed not to get soot on herself Hermione would never know. Following in rapid succession Luna and Ginny tumbled out behind her, the former landing on her bum.

"Hermione! I've missed you!" Ginny squealed, practically tackling the older witch onto the couch. Laughing a bit and hugging the ginger girl back she watched as the emerald flames danced again and Andromeda stepped out looking just as immaculate as Fleur. Hermione shook her head, she may have been raised partially by Andromeda, dealing with the teachings that "any proper witch should know" but she never could manage to be as effortlessly elegant as Andromeda.

Letting go of Ginny, Hermione turned to Andromeda, "you look lovely! I don't know why you think you need makeup you're flawless as is." Andromeda just smiled and patted her on the cheek as she strolled past toward the master suite where Hermione had hung their dresses and set up multiple "beauty stations" for them to get ready at. The younger girls flocked behind her.

"So Hermione, when are you guys leaving? I heard from Luna who heard from Harry that you guys are leaving tonight but I know that can't be true because you haven't even told me you're leaving and Luna had to hear it from Harry." Ginny scolded the curly haired witch in front of her.

A guilty look came over Hermione's face, she turned to Ginny, "Well you see, I was going to tell you both today but someone couldn't keep his trap shut when it comes to that one," she jerked her thumb towards Luna who was just smiling wistfully at the two of them, that smile turned into a smirk when she heard Hermione's words.

"Men are just too easy, once you have one head under control you have both" Hermione and Ginny's jaws just dropped as the ethereal blonde flounced past them.

Shaking her head Hermione continued up the stairs, "but anyway, to answer your question yes, we are leaving tonight, we have reservations at a bed and breakfast there in Forks for 3 days, we will go house hunting as soon as we unpack. I've found a few houses online that match what I'm wanting."

* * *

 ***Flashback***

Having been raised in the muggle world till the incident, Hermione had decided to keep in touch with it, going as far as to take a few computer courses so she could understand the technology adapting around them, this led to her trying to find a way to make electronics work around magic, as it was it wasn't her necessarily who figured out how to make it work. It was Dudley, Harry's cousin, the boy had reached out to Harry after he finished secondary wanting to at least make amends before never speaking to each other again. Harry had asked Hermione to go with him when he met Dudley again for the first time, after she agreed they went and had lunch at a small hole in the wall pub. The meeting had gone off without a hitch and it turned into a weekly occurrence that continued to this day, it was at one of these meetings, that now took place at one or the others homes, where Hermione had voiced her annoyance that she couldn't figure out how to keep the bigger appliances from frying themselves when in the vicinity of magic. Dudley finished the mouthful of curry she had gotten from her favorite shop before responding with a shrug, "what about a surge protector?"

Dumbfounded Hermione left the rest of her food and ran upstairs, pulling out a book of runes she put together an idea of what she needed before grabbing the surge protector she used to plug her cell into. She had figured out a mix of a binding spell and freezing spell on the battery of her phone and laptop or really any portable device kept it from overheating. Sitting at her desk she pulled out her carving set, it was made specially for carving runes, she set to work. Fifteen minutes later she used a special knife given to her by Charlie Weasley for her last birthday, forged from dragon blood and fire it was a perfect addition to any witches tools, but they were rare as to make them the blood had to be willingly given and the fire needed to be from the dragon whose blood was taken, this one happened to be from an Antipodean Opaleye, a very rare endangered breed, Charlie had hand reared this particular beast.

Making a small cut into her forearm she had allowed a single drop of her blood to fall onto each rune. After the last drop had fallen, she wandlessly healed the cut before starting her chant. Seconds passed and the runes carved to the back of the protector glowed blue before settling into a dull grey barely standing out against the white of the surge protector. She could feel the thrum of her magic in it as she raced downstairs and grabbed the boys telling them they were heading to Dudley's flat. She spun on the spot pulling the boys with her, she set about warding his small mudroom on the back of the flat (he lived on the first floor of a 4-story building and had the only access to the small backyard through this mud room). Having the boys bring Dudley's tv into the room and plug it into the surge protector she demanded Harry help her by using a multitude of small spells to build up the residual magical energy to see if the tv could withstand it.

After an hour of the tv still working she had asked Dudley if he had another tv or something similar he wouldn't mind getting destroyed. He had nodded and went off to grab the little tv from his room that he never used anymore. Bringing it back he plugged it into the wall without the surge protector and as soon as he flipped it on it burst into flames. Hermione had squealed in delight at her new-found knowledge. Harry had to put out the fire as she was too preoccupied hugging Dudley and thanking him profusely for the idea, he had blushed and tried to shrug it off. Later that day Hermione had protected all of the surge protectors for her house and a few spares just in case, she also had taught Harry the runes and chant in case he wanted to get a tv or anything for his home. They both ultimately decided not to patent it or inform the Wizengamot of their discovery, only very close family and friends.

* * *

 ***Present time***

Ginny had huffed and puffed the rest of the way up the stairs before coming up behind Andromeda and starting on her hair, Fleur had already started applying makeup to Andy's face the muggle way, claiming it looked better, she would use a variation of the sticking charm to keep the makeup from smudging when she was finished, Hermione sat herself at another station and started on her own makeup. Not needing much she placed on a pore hiding primer and a light BB cream, along with some blush and a nude shimmery lipstick setting the look with a small amount of oil control powder. Following that she defined her perfectly arched eyebrows and focused most of her attention on her eye makeup, a light smoky shadow with a defined smoky cat-eye and some lengthening mascara. She finished the look by placing the light sticking charm to keep her makeup perfect.

Looking around she saw Ginny finishing Andromeda's hair, she had twisted it back into a low knot held in place by yet another sticking charm. She left a couple curled tendrils loose framing her face. Fleur had put on a light pink satin finish lipstick on her, lightly lining her eyes and placing a champagne eyeshadow on that matched Andromeda's dress and finishing the eyes with two coats of lengthening mascara. On her face she just placed a light dusting of blush and finished it with the spell. Luna had come up behind Hermione and was in the process of taming her curls. A few seconds of tugging and pulling she had it back into a low, loose side knot. Leaving a few tendrils loose around her face to match Andromeda's hairdo. She helped Hermione into her dress and shoes and then she put the bracelet and earring set Sirius had given her on. She watched as Fleur placed the coronet in Andy's hair for the finished look. With a smile she stood up and grabbed Andromeda's dress off the hanger and removed the stasis charm that was keeping it pressed and clean. She helped the older woman into the dress and summoned their bouquets, handing Andy's to her she went out to the yard to check on the men.

A low whistle sounded from beside her and she jumped to see Fred and George standing there, "well look at you Hermione, you clean up nicely! We got a taste at the yule ball but merlin's pants you look fabulous!" Fred grabbed her hand and spun her to him.

"Ya Granger, you look fantastic!" George grabbed her from his twin and spun her into him making her giggle like crazy.

"You two behave, I need to make sure the men are dressed and ready to go, Andy is perfect and getting anxious." She danced out of his grip and headed to the fountain. She saw all the boys there and dressed in their robes, Teddy was the first one to notice her and with a squeal took off towards her. She grinned and scooped him up letting him plant a big kiss on her cheek knowing that the charm she put on her makeup would keep it in place. She continued on towards the boys, "looks like you guys have everything in order here, nothing missing?" she looked towards Sirius, he shook his head and patted his inner robe pocket where the rings were.

"Ok, I'm going to go tell Andy it's time, Remus, Sirius come with me."

"Me too?" Teddy looked up at her, his eyes changing to match hers.

"Of-course Teddy-bear! You get to walk down the aisle with me before Nana and give Harry the pretty rings remember?" She watched as he took on a very serious expression for a toddler and nodded his head. Nuzzling his cheek into her shoulder as she turned to head back inside, she strolled upstairs to find Andy sitting alone in the room, sitting Teddy down she watched as he wandered over to her.

"Nana, so pretty!" He exclaimed climbing up on her knee and squishing her face between his hands.

"Thank you, Teddy, you look dashing as well!" Andy exclaimed before setting him on the ground and grabbing the sapphire blue pillow that had a mild sticking charm on it to hold the rings and handing it to Teddy. A knock on the open door sounded behind them.

"Andy you look amazing!" Sirius boomed as he strolled in, grabbing her hand and making her twirl for them.

"Andy, I just wanted to tell you that I know Dora and Ted would be so happy that you're happy." Remus told her with a smile followed by a kiss to her cheek. Sirius reached into his robe pocket and pulled out a handkerchief and the velvet pouch that has the rings in it. A beautiful white gold wedding band with alternating sapphire and diamonds going all around the band was Andy's wedding band, Michael's was a black tungsten ring with a single round sapphire chip set into it, and a sapphire colored glass stripe wrapping around it. Placing the rings on the pillow and flipping it upside down to make sure the charm was activated he handed the pillow back to Teddy who was giggling in delight turning it upside down and looking to see the rings still stuck there. He handed the kerchief to Andromeda as she dabbed her eyes, a small sniffle coming through.

"Thank you, Remus, that means everything to me." She replied, "I was having doubts that they would think it was too soon."

"Not at all Andy, they loved you so much and they would want you to be happy no matter how soon it was, and I believe that there's no such thing as too soon for love, sometimes you just know and I know looking at you and Michael that this is love, you may have had your true love with Ted but that doesn't mean Michael isn't that too." She gave him a watery smile and patted his arm.

Giving herself a shake, Andy gave everyone in the room a smile and accept the two men's arms that they held out to her. Hermione smiled lightly and grabbed Teddy's hand. Leading the small boy outside she nodded to Harry who was standing with Michael as his best man, the two had become close as Harry was teddy's godfather. He nodded back and motioned for someone to start the music. Arioso from Cantata BWV 156 by Bach started playing, and Hermione looked down at Teddy, "You ready Teddy-bear?" He nodded with a huge smile on his face she let go of his hand and grabbed the bouquet with both and watched as Teddy held the pillow with one hand and had a fistful of her skirt in the other.

She slowly started down the aisle, Harry smiled at her and Kingsley, who would be the officiant for the wedding gave her nod before winking at Teddy making him grin. As they reached the fountain Teddy quickly let go on her dress to attach himself to Harry's pant leg, Harry gave him an indulgent smile and a pat on the head before taking the rings off the pillow and sticking them in his pocket. Everyone turned to look back down the aisle as Andromeda started down from the house flanked by Remus and Sirius, her eyes locked with Michaels as they walked. A couple minutes passed and they reached the fountain, both men gave her a kiss to the cheek before giving her hand to Michael, Hermione took her bouquet and banished them to the high table at the reception area.

Kingsley cleared his throat and with a silent sonorus he started speaking. "Today we are here celebrating the union of these two, Michael and Andromeda, the couple has their own vows to state, Andromeda?"

The woman in question looked up at Michael and clasped both his hands in hers,

" _Michael, you cannot possess me for I belong to myself._  
 _But while we both wish it, I give you that which is mine to give._  
 _You cannot command me, for I am a free person._  
 _But I shall serve you in those ways you require,_  
 _And the honeycomb will taste sweeter coming from my hand._  
 _I pledge to you that yours will be the name I cry aloud in the night,_  
 _And the eyes into which I smile in the morning._  
 _I pledge to you the first bite of my meat and the first drink from my cup._  
 _I pledge to you my living and my dying, each equally in your care._  
 _I shall be a shield for your back and you for mine._  
 _I shall not slander you, nor you me._  
 _I shall honor you above all others, and when we quarrel we shall do so in_  
 _Private and tell no strangers our grievances._  
 _This is my wedding vow to you_  
 _This is the marriage of equals."_

She finished her vows and a small sniffle and a smile towards her soon to be husband.

"And now for yours, Michael?" Kingsley's deep voice spoke. With a nod to him Michael switched the position of their hands so his were grasping hers,

" _Andromeda, You are the star of each night,_  
 _You are the brightness of every morning,_  
 _You are the story of each guest,_  
 _You are the report of every land._  
 _No evil shall befall you, on hill nor bank,_  
 _In field or valley, on mountain or in glen._  
 _Neither above, nor below, neither in sea,_  
 _Nor on shore, in skies above,_  
 _Nor in the depths._  
 _You are the kernel of my heart,_  
 _You are the face of my sun,_  
 _You are the harp of my music,_  
 _You are the crown of my company._

 _This is my wedding vow to you_

 _This is a marriage of equals."_

"The couple has expressed their wishes to be married by both muggle and magical means, first we will do the ring exchange, Harry?" The man in question nodded reaching into his pocket and extracting the rings he placed them in Kingsley's open palm. He handed Andromeda's ring to Michael "Do you, Michael, take Andromeda to be your wife, to be her constant friend, her partner in life, and her true love? To love her without reservation, honor and respect her, protect her from harm, comfort her in times of distress, and to grow with her in mind and spirit?"

"I do" replied Michael as he slid the ring into place.

Handing Michael's ring to Andromeda he repeated, "Do you, Andromeda, take Michael to be your husband, to be his constant friend, his partner in life, and his true love? To love him without reservation, honor and respect him, protect him from harm, comfort him in times of distress, and to grow with him in mind and spirit?"

"I do" replied Andromeda following Michael's example and slipping the ring onto his finger.

"By the power vested in me as the Minister for Magic I now pronounce you man and wife, Michael you may kiss your bride"

With that Michael swooped in placing a chaste but firm kiss on Andy's lips. As he pulled away Kingsley began speaking again, "Now for the magical binding, Harry and Hermione please draw your wands and take your places, Andromeda please grasp Michael's left forearm with yours." The couple followed his orders as Harry and Hermione stood to the right of their respective party. With a booming voice Kingsley started the binding.

" _Happy is the bride that rain falls on_  
 _May your mornings bring joy and your evenings bring peace._  
 _May your troubles grow few as your blessings increase._  
 _May the saddest day of your future_  
 _Be no worse than the happiest day of your past._  
 _May your hands be forever clasped in friendship_  
 _And your hearts joined forever in love._  
 _Your lives are very special,_  
 _Hecate has touched you in many ways._  
 _May her blessings rest upon you_  
 _And fill all your coming days._  
 _We swear by peace and love to stand,_  
 _Heart to heart and hand to hand._  
 _Hark, O Spirit, and hear us now,_  
 _Confirming this our Sacred Vow._

 _Now you are bound one to the other_  
 _With a tie not easy to break._  
 _Take the time of binding_  
 _Before the final vows are made_  
 _To learn what you need to know -_  
 _To grow in wisdom and love._  
 _That your marriage will be strong_  
 _That your love will last_  
 _In this life and beyond."_

Harry placed the tip of his wand to the juncture where Michael's hand grasped Andromeda's forearm and Hermione copied his actions where Andromeda grasped Michael. Together they spoke evenly and clearly "So mote it be" Everyone gasped as a golden glow formed around the couple it pulsed seven times before settling down into their wedding bands which continued to glow with runes and would until they consummated the marriage.

A small sprinkling of rain started as the happy couple started down the aisle towards the house, Remus scooped Teddy up telling him how good of a job he did while Sirius slung an arm over both Harry and Hermione's shoulders, before freezing when he noticed a head of blonde hair standing by the door of the house at the back of the aisle. "Cissy" he breathed under his breath and he quickly searched for Andy. Finding her chatting with Kingsley and Mr. Weasley he went over, "Forgive me for interrupting but I believe there is a guest that hasn't been properly welcomed." with a nod to both men he steered Andy towards her sister, he watched as her silver eyes widened and her jaw dropped. Without a glance back towards Sirius, she made her way to her sister.

Sirius wandered back to the kids, keeping an eye on the girls and a smile broke out on his face when he saw them hug tightly and Narcissa left. The wedding party went to the yard and the reception raged on through the night. A few hours later Sirius found Hermione, "Kitten, let's go home, Remus and I shrank all the boxes and placed them in another box to take with us." Hermione nodded her head and bid Harry goodbye, giving her brother a tight hug and told him once they get settled, he better come visit them. She made her rounds before finding Sirius and Remus who was holding a very sleepy Teddy.

"I'm ready to go" she told them, the men nodded and Sirius handed her a crushed soda can he had unshrunk from his pocket, tapping it three times with his wand, "portus", he set the portkey to drop her in the woods outside the bed and breakfast where they would be staying.

"See you in a few minutes Kitten, we're going to go home and grab the boxes, will you take Teddy?" she nodded and took the now sleeping toddler from Remus.

"See you in a bit Papa, Moony, I'll get us all checked into the rooms." They had booked two connected rooms and a separate room for her at the bed and breakfast. She tugged on the bag charm on her bracelet and watched as it resized itself, reaching in she quickly pulled out a black hard sided suitcase and a bright blue tote with the name Teddy embroidered on it. The soda can started to shake, so she shot the men a smile and touched her finger to it disappearing from sight. The men followed suit apparating back to the cottage.


	7. Lip Gloss and Black

**All rights to the respective authors!**

 **Here we go two updates in two days! Don't get used to this! I was on a roll haha**

 **Shout out to my beta starkiss666**

 **As always constructive** **criticism** **welcome!**

 **Just wondering if anyone has picked up on the names of the chapters?**

 **Enjoy and happy holidays!**

* * *

Landing with a stumble, Hermione immediately checked to make sure Teddy was still sleeping, Merlin she hated portkeying. Pulling her wand out of her sleeve she waved it over his clothes changing them into the dragon print pj's and putting him in a pair of pull ups that were in his bag, doing the same for herself but changing into a pair of jeans, a jumper the same color as her dress and a pair of converse shoes, her makeup melted off and her jewelry stashed itself in her suitcase and a sleek black wristwatch replaced the bracelet. She dug in the pocket of her jeans and found a hair tie, waving her hand again her curls fell around her shoulders and she grabbed them up into a high ponytail. She tugged on the bag on her bracelet again fishing out her purse after it resized, she slung the purse over her shoulder and thought about the bag shrinking again and smiled when it placed itself back on her bracelet.

Glancing at the sleeping toddler to make sure he was still out cold, nodding to herself she walked out of the tree line to the front door of the bed and breakfast, since it was about 12am when she left England it was only around 4pm here. Walking up the stairs to the front door she walked in. Looking around she sat the tote and suitcase down on the floor by the small desk in the corner. She wandered around the front room and turned to look at the door as she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. An older woman opened the door and apparently hadn't seen Hermione because she jumped almost out of her skin when she looked up as saw the girl staring right at her.

"Dear you gave me a scare!" the woman scolded with a small smile, "You must be Her-min-ee?"

Hermione barely contained her eye roll, "Her-my-oh-knee, and yes that's me, how do you do Ms. Murphy?"

The woman gave her a grateful grin before trying her name again "Her-my-oh-knee, that will take some getting used to, who is the adorable little one? Oh! You're probably very tired from your trip! Wasn't there going to be three adults?" She just now seemed to notice the front room was empty except for the girl and the toddler.

"Oh yes, Sirius and Remus will be here in a bit, they had some stuff to take care of before they left so they caught a later flight, this is Teddy, Remus's son." She replied with a tired smile, it may only be four-thirty here but it was almost one am to her body, "Do you mind if I pay for the rooms now? The boys aren't going to have any dollars on them because they won't have time to change it over till after they get here."

The woman nodded and went behind the desk, typing into an old desktop computer, "three nights, right? That will come up to $300 even, unless you'd like to add breakfast then it's usually an extra $10 per person, but I'll give it to you for $10 a day, so a total of $330, Teddy will eat free because he's so young."

Hermione nodded and pulled her debit card out of her purse, Gringotts had a branch in America so they didn't need to transfer their money. The bank had also started using "muggle" debit cards, they took on the appearance of a local muggle bank near where they were spending, and it pulled the funds from the account just like a normal debit card. Handing the card to the woman she watched as she swiped it, Ms. Murphy handed her the card back along with the receipt to sign, with a flourish she signed it and handed it back over to the woman. She turned around and unlocked a wooden door Hermione hadn't noticed, opening it she saw the keys to all the rooms, everyone had a different hand carved animal key chain, it made her almost snort when the woman pulled out one wolf, one eagle and one fish. She was hoping the wolf and the fish would be the connected rooms so she could give the fish to Sirius and watch as he pouted when he realized he was the only one who didn't get an animal that represented them.

"Also, please call me Dorothy, Ms. Murphy makes me feel so old!" the woman exclaimed, "Okay, the eagle is the separate room, the other two are connected, each room has a plaque on the door corresponding with the animal on the keychain, do you need a cot for the little one?"

Hermione grinned in triumph at the news that she could pick on Sirius before he even got here, "no ma'am..." Dorothy shot her a hard look, Hermione swallowed, "no thank you Dorothy, Teddy here will just sleep in bed with me until his father gets here, is there a telephone in the room?" When the woman smiled and nodded in confirmation Hermione added, "will you please give me a call when the boys get here?" she glanced at the watch on her arm, "they should be here within an hour or two."

"Of course, dear, you must be exhausted from the time change, go take a nap, I'll let you know when they arrive." The woman gave her a kind smile and turned heading towards the door. Hermione grabbed the bags and headed towards the stairs, she walked up to the second floor, quickly finding the door with the eagle carved onto it. Walking into the room she glanced around noting a queen-sized bed, a small sitting area with two arm chairs beside a fireplace with a small table between them, a connected bathroom and a small closet, perfect size for her. She laid Teddy in the middle of the bed, surprised the boy had slept through the entire check-in, she opened the bag and summoned his stuffed wolf and his blanket that had been Tonk's baby blanket. Putting the wolf beside him she giggled silently as she watched his little nose twitch as he took in the scent and his chubby hand reached out and pulled the toy to him, she draped the blanket over him and heard him sigh in content. It didn't show very often but she thought it was adorable when he showed his small number of lupine traits. he'd never be a werewolf but he did have a craving for his meat a little on the rare side, his sense of smell was better than most humans, as was his sense of hearing, and he seemed to know the pack hierarchy instinctively.

Tugging her bag off her bracelet again she reached in and pulled out a couple sutras she had made for traveling, she had taken the idea from some mangas she had read once, so instead of carving the runes into every technological device she encountered and leaving bits of her magic behind, she had created these sutras on sticky paper, they held the runes she used to keep technology from exploding around magic drawn on them with her blood instead of ink. All she had to do was place them on whatever technology she wanted and use the chant, they were temporary and could be removed with no trace of magical residue left. This meant she could save the carving for things she owned. Walking to the bedside table she picked up the entire phone and flipped it over, careful not to take the handpiece off the hook. She pressed on one of the sutras and chanted quickly making it glow blue. She repeated the process with the tv in the room.

Once done she turned to her suitcase and picked it up placing it on one of the armchairs. Opening it up she pulled out a tiny purple bag that immediately resized itself, she opened it making sure all her bathroom supplies were in there. She also grabbed her dark purple satin bathrobe out, she walked over to the en suite, before turning around pulling her wand out of her sleeve and placing a barrier charm on the bed, to make sure Teddy didn't roll off in his sleep, along with a monitoring charm to let her know if he woke up before her shower was over. Once she was satisfied no harm could come to Teddy while she was in the shower, she wandered into the decent sized bathroom and turned on the water, the shower was connected to a huge standalone claw foot tub, easily six and a half feet long. She couldn't wait to have a soak when the boys got here to watch Teddy. Placing her shower items on the little stand next to the tub she waited for the water to warm up by putting out the rest of her bathroom stuff on the little shelf by the mirror.

Walking back to the tub she sat her wand on the little stand and stripped her clothes off and got in, relishing the heat of the water on her sore muscles, traveling by portkey always made her stiff. Reaching out and grabbing her shampoo she lathered her hair, rinsing it out she followed with her thick conditioner, using a hair clip she twisted her hair on top of her head and let the conditioner sit while she washed her body, grabbing her wand she used a hair removal spell to shave her legs and arm pits. As she was rinsing the conditioner out of her hair, she heard her wand start to vibrate meaning that Teddy was starting to wake up. She quickly finished and stepped out of the tub, using her wand to dry her body but wrapping her hair up in a towel. Throwing her robe on she fastened it in the front and walked out to the bedroom, non-verbally taking down the barrier and monitoring charms she waited for Teddy to open his eyes, smiling when she saw his natural seafoam green eyes peeking back at her. A toothy grin lit up his face as he reached his chubby arms up to her. She scooped him up and gave him a kiss on the head, then putting him back on the bed she reached into his tote and pulled out a pair of his big boy undies. Helping him wiggle out of his pj bottoms and out of the pull ups he was wearing, he had to wear them most nights, she cleaned him up magically and slipped the underwear on and pulled his bottoms back on.

She had just picked him back up when the phone in the room rang. Reaching for the receiver she held it to her ear. "Hello?"

"Hermione? I believe your two boys are walking up the drive as we speak, if one has long hair and some scruff and the other looks like a tall clean-cut fellow?" Hermione was nodding even though the woman couldn't see her.

"That's them, I'll meet them at the door, thank you Dorothy!" she hung up the phone after the woman bid her goodbye and she looked at Teddy, "Daddy is here! Wanna go see him and padfoot?"

Teddy clapped his hands chanting "daddy, daddy, daddy" over and over, she waved her wand over herself and changed back into the clothes she was wearing before. Pulling the towel out of her hair she hung it on the back of one of the armchairs to dry till she came back. Patting her jeans pocket, she made sure the keys were there before leaving the room and magically locking the door. She wandered downstairs with Teddy still in her arms.

Once downstairs she opened the door and stood in the doorway watching them come up the drive. Teddy started squirming in her arms so she sat him down and watched as he bolted towards Remus. She heard him laugh and watched as he dropped his bag and grabbed his son under the arms and tossed him in the air before settling him on his hip. He reached down to grab his bag and they continued on towards the house.

"You'd think he hasn't seen you in forever instead of just a few hours" She commented lightly, while digging in her pockets. She produced both keys, handing the fish to Sirius when he reached her and the wolf to Remus. Sirius raised his eyebrow towards her when he noticed Remus's keychain.

"Now kitten why did he get the wolf? Don't you think I'm more deserving of a masculine creature of the night like that?"

Hermione just snorted at her father, "He gets the wolf for obvious reasons Papa, just like I got mine for obvious reasons." She pulled her keychain out of her other pocket and dangled it in front of his face. Laughing when his eyes widened then his face morphed into a full-blown pout.

"Why do you both get keychains that remind you of yourself?! Why am I stuck with a damn fish?" he dropped his bag on the ground and crossed his arms. "I demand you switch with me Moony"

Remus just rolled his eyes and continued into the house, "Mina bird will you show us to our rooms please? I'd like a shower and then maybe we can wander into Forks and get some food."

Hermione nodded in response and headed up the stairs, "Remus here is your room, Sirius yours is next door, your rooms are connected by your shared bathroom, I didn't get a cot for Teddy, I assumed you'd packed one for him?" She glanced behind her and Remus nodded in confirmation. "Good, I'm going to go to my room and change out of this outfit, just come knock on the door when you're done showering, Sirius if you want you can steal my shower?"

The still pouting man shook his head, "Nah I showered just before the wedding and I didn't work up much of a sweat I'll be fine till we get back."

Hermione nodded and wandered across the hall to her room, walking in and shutting the door behind her she spotted Teddy's bag still where she sat it, grabbing it she wandered back across the hall. Knocking on Sirius's door knowing he'd have Teddy if Remus was showering, she waited for him to open the door while thinking about where she wanted to eat, she wondered if the little diner her uncle liked was still open. "Kitten?" a hand waved in front of her face snapping her out of her thoughts.

"O, here is Teddy's bag! I figured you'd need it to get him dressed to go out." She glanced over his shoulder as a crash sounded through the room and a buck-naked Teddy bolted out of the bathroom. His hair changing from its normal black to the turquoise he had been favoring as he laughed merrily and Remus came bolting out behind him soaked from head to toe. "I'm just going to leave you two to it... have fun!" she said as she hurried back across the hall laughing to herself.

Once she got back to her room, she realized she forgot to inform Harry that they had made it here ok, deciding to call him instead of trying to send a patronus she pulled her cell phone out of her purse. She laughed silently to herself when she remembered the case, she had bought on a whim the night before the full moon last month at a muggle shop. It had the phases of the moon on it. Shaking her head, she quickly swiped Harry's name, waiting for him to pick up she started digging through her clothes, smirking slightly when she pulled out a pair of black torn up skinny jeans that Andy hated when she wore, claiming she was too much like her father sometimes. Digging even deeper into the seemingly never-ending bag she found her gauzy but not see through, form fitting, maroon tank top, pulling that and a pair of lacy black cheekies and matching bra, something Andromeda had started her on, now all of her undergarments we matching sets and she owned more than she could ever possibly wear but like her books it was a guilty pleasure.

Finally she heard a sleepy voice say hello, "Harry? I'm sorry I woke you but I wanted to let you know we got here okay and are settled into the bed and breakfast. Love you!" there was a muttered love you too in response and she thought she heard him snore again before hanging up the phone.

Sliding everything on she dug out a pair of ankle socks and slipped them on and pull out her short combat boots and pulled them on. The shirt hit just above the pants showing off a sliver of her pale skin, she pulled her hair to the side and did a quick loose plait that hung over her right shoulder. Finding her jewelry box, she had packed she pulled it out and enlarged it, opening the little doors on the front she quickly found her white gold chain necklace with an opal crescent moon hanging from it. She pulled open one of the drawers and pulled out a tiny black velvet bag that held all her earrings, putting all six opal studs in her left ear largest starting on the bottom and a tiny one at the top and the four in her right in the same order, she added a set of white gold hoops in the bottom holes. In the same drawer she pulled out a tiny diamond nose stud and slid it in the hole on her right nostril.

Glancing in the full body mirror that hung on the back of her rooms door she grabbed her wand from where she had placed it on the bed and used it to put on some light makeup. Black smoky eyeliner being the main focus, a light blush on her cheeks and a dark red lip stain that gave her pouty lips a perfect tint. Reaching back into her suitcase she quickly found her worn leather jacket, well, her fathers resized worn leather jacket, she had stolen it before going on the run with Harry and well you know who else it was. She shook her head refusing to think of him right now. Pulling on the soft jacket and pulling her plait out and over her shoulder again, she pulled a book out of the suitcase and sat in an armchair and started reading waiting for the knock on her door.

About 30 minutes passed when she heard their door open. She sat the book on the table and walked to her door opening it only to get smacked in the shoulder with someone's fist. "Shit kitten! You okay?"

She just laughed and nodded her head, rolling her shoulder to get the throbbing out of it. "I'm fine, anyway I want to go down to this diner that Uncle Charlie used to go to, they make a mean steak. Is that okay with you guys?" They just nodded their heads and Sirius offered her his elbow like a true gentleman, with a laugh she looped her arm through his only to find her other hand occupied by a tiny fist. She looked down and smiled at Teddy whose hair was now black to match hers. On his other side she made eye contact with Remus and raised her eyebrow, he just shrugged with a smile.

"Mina bird we rented a car for us to use for a while, we parked it down the road though, you're the only one of us that actually has a legitimate license, no Padfoot the fake one you used to get said car does not count, and you're the only one who knows how to get to the diner, will you drive?" He dangled the keys in front of her and she snatched them out of his hand before Sirius could.

They came up to the rented black 2012 Volvo xc60, she unlocked the doors and watched as Remus transfigured a decent sized rock into a suitable booster seat for Teddy. After they got him all buckled in and Sirius ran around to the passenger side, she climbed into the driver's seat. Getting situated she took off down the road to town, it was about a 15-minute drive from the bed and breakfast to the diner.

She pulled up outside the diner and parked, "ok ground rules, Sirius you behave yourself when we go in here, Teddy-bear?". She flipped around in the seat after unbuckling her belt, "sweetie you need to keep your hair like mine ok?" The toddler nodded his head as seriously as he could while fighting her father who was trying to place a cap on his head.

She smiled at the pout on Sirius's face and they all exited the vehicle. Walking up to the diner Sirius opened the door for her to go in, only for her to almost walk into someone walking out. She looked up and gasped quietly, "Uncle Charlie?"


	8. Last of the Wilds

**All rights to the respective authors of Twilight and Harry Potter**

 **I own nothing**

 **Some content may** **mimic** **the story line and timeline but this is an AU and as such doesn't** **completely follow them. Ages may have been changed, etc etc**

 **Much love to my best friend and Beta Starkiss666**

 **As always** **constructive** **criticism** **is welcome!**

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Hermione stared up at the man she hadn't seen since she was 10, her mouth was open while she tried to formulate a full sentence.

"I'm sorry miss, but do I know you?" The man's head tilted to the side with a contemplating look on his face.

Snapping back to reality she remembered that the ministry had been sent to all her relatives to erase the memory of her and plant a fake memory of her parent's untimely death. She closed her mouth with an audible snap and swallowed her fear. "I must have mistaken you for someone else, my apologies." She looked up at him again and studied his face. Obviously, a bit older than the last time she saw him she took in the splashes of grey in his hair, looking up into his brown eyes that were so much like how hers were before the adoption and how her mothers used to look, they held the same guarded kindness he'd always had. Moving her eyes down his face she noticed he now wore a beard and mustache trimmed close to his face instead of just the bushy mustache she remembered him favouring. Glancing further down she realized he wasn't dressed in his sheriffs' uniform but in a pair of dark muggle jeans, a white t-shirt and a black worn leather jacket not unlike her own, and a pair of boots.

"I don't believe I've seen you folks around here before."

Her eyes snapped up to his face.

"No sir" Remus replied, "we actually just got here from across the pond, looking to get a fresh start in a new place, this is my niece Hermione, my son Teddy and my brother Sirius. I'm Remus." he stuck his hand out.

Charlie eyed the man skeptically but being the trusting individual he was, he grabbed the man's hand and gave it a shake before repeating the gesture with the scruffy looking man with the long hippy hair. "Well, let me be the first to welcome you to the town of Forks, I'm Chief Charlie Swan."

Sirius turned to Hermione and raised an eyebrow at the new information that he was the chief, she just shrugged, he had been chief for as long as Hermione could remember, it just slipped her mind.

Sirius turned back to the man, "The pleasure is ours, but I'm afraid we may have to cut this meeting short because something in there smells heavenly and I'm starving. I'm hoping to get myself a big juicy steak."

Charlie gave a grin to the very blunt man, "They make a mean t-bone in here, tell Lola that you want the chief's special and she'll hook you up with a baked potato and whatever flavor of cobbler for dessert, best in Washington if I do say so myself." he laughed a bit and nodded to them, his gaze drifting once again to the young woman with them, something about her and the way she had called him Uncle Charlie earlier struck a chord within him, he felt like he should know her.

"Perfect, thank you very much." Remus replied ushering Sirius and Teddy into the diner.

* * *

"I'm sorry for running into you sir, I wasn't watching where I was going and I can be a bit of a klutz" Hermione gave him a sad grin.

"No worries, my daughter Bella is the same way, girl could choke on thin air and trip on flat ground if she wasn't paying attention!" He laughed a good belly laugh, "Bella is maybe a couple years younger than you, she's 17 and just getting ready to enter her senior year of high school, she moved up here this summer to stay with me while her mother and step father travel for his minor league baseball career." He rolled his eyes at the thought. "Anyways I'll let her know about you and if she sees you around, she might say hi, she's pretty shy though so then again she might not. She's been spending most of her time up at La Push, the reservation we border, with an old friend of hers from when she used to come up here every summer for a few weeks." Charlie stopped talking and looked confused as to why he felt the need to give this girl so much information, with a shake of his head he pressed on, "It was nice to meet you Hermione, I'll see you around town." With another smile to the tiny girl he took off through the parking lot and down the road to where his cruiser sat parked.

Hermione watched him go with a dull ache in her chest, she was trying to decide the best course of action, she couldn't believe she had forgotten about the fact that he wouldn't remember her. With a sigh she turned and walked into the diner, spying her boys at the far corner table, the one her uncle had usually sat at when she was younger, she walked that way smiling at the uncomfortable look Remus had on his face as the waitress flirted with him. She grinned bigger at the pout on Sirius's face at the fact that Remus was being hit on and not him. She came up and pulled out the chair next to Sirius and sat down, Teddy was sitting in a highchair on the end of the table next to her seat and Remus sat across from her.

"Evening darlin, what can I get you to drink?" the waitress asked Hermione with a kind smile on her face, "I'll just take a lemonade please" she replied, with a nod and a note on her book the waitress shot a wink towards Remus leaving him sputtering and strolled back behind the counter to get their drinks.

"Well, well, well only in town a few hours and already Moony has women falling at his feet, are you losing your touch papa?" She grinned at Sirius when he huffed.

"The bint wouldn't even glance my way!" he whined

"She probably liked the paternal vibes coming off Remus when he's around Teddy." she replied grinning as Sirius mumbled something under his breathe that sounded suspiciously like 'bloody werewolves and their stupid animal magnetism" Remus snorted having caught the full sentence and quickly turned to fuss with Teddy as the waitress came back with their drinks, setting the lemonade in front of Hermione and a water in front of Remus, she then placed a small cup that had a lid and straw on it filled with chocolate milk closer to Teddy but far enough away that Remus would need to hand it to him if he wanted a drink. She then sat the final drink on her tray, a frothy glass of beer from a local brewery in Seattle in front of Sirius.

Tucking the tray under her arm and pulling her notebook and pen out of her apron pocket she looked at Remus with a raised eyebrow, "I'll take the chief's special, rare, and can I get the potato with butter and sour cream please?"

"Sure can sweet cheeks, and for the little one?" she pointed the end of her pen at Teddy.

"He'll take an order of macaroni and cheese, if you could please bring that out first?" she nodded and turned to Hermione with a smile.

"I'll also have the chief's special, medium rare, and can I get chips with cheese, bacon and chives on them with a side of ranch?"

The waitress raised an eyebrow, "I'm assuming you mean fries dear, unless you want potato chips?"

Hermione blushed lightly, "Yes, sorry, an order of french fries with cheese, bacon and chives?"

"Of course, and for you." she turned to look at Sirius the smile dropping from her lips at the flirtatious look he was sending her.

"I'll also take the chief's special, medium rare, just butter on the potato beautiful." He shot her a wink and then looked affronted when the woman rolled her eyes and stuck the notebook back in her pocket.

"Alrighty folks I'll get that order in right away starting with the mac n cheese, anything else I can get you right now?"

All three of them shook their heads and she turned and stalked towards the kitchen.

"She really doesn't seem to like you Pad's" Remus was biting back a grin as he turned to Sirius, "Maybe she knows you're a womanizer?"

Sirius gasped dramatically and placed a hand to his chest, "I am no such thing! I am a perfect gentleman."

Hermione snorted, "what was the name of the red headed bimbo you brought home the night before the wedding?"

Sirius put a thoughtful look on his face, snapping his fingers he pointed at Hermione, "Mary!"

She shook her head, "No papa, that was the redhead from a few weeks ago, bravo on remembering that name though, this one was Norma-Jean"

Sirius just shrugged and looked towards the waitress who was currently bringing over a small bowl of steaming mac n cheese.

"Here ya go darlin, may want to wait a few minutes to let it cool, just came out of the oven." She shot another flirtatious grin at Remus grinning when he blushed.

Remus waited till the waitress was far enough away before doing a wandless and nonverbal cooling spell, Teddy was starting to fuss because he was hungry and he couldn't wait till it cooled off naturally. Setting the bowl in front of the toddler he tied his bib on him and let him feed himself.

"So, how do I go about getting Charlie's memories of me back?" Hermione looked to Remus.

"I don't know Mina-bird, I think our best bet is to get him alone and check his head, I've heard that the American's don't like to obliviate muggles after the whole Grindelwald thunderbird incident in New York, they usually just put a mind block on them instead, those are easy enough to circumvent in case of an emergency or you could put in a petition to MACUSA and see if they'll do it for you, but, that may take weeks or even months." He picked up his napkin and wiped Teddy's face off further angering the small boy, "I'm sure between the three of us we can figure out how to rid him of the block if that's what they did, if it is an obliviation you'll have to contact MACUSA and have them send out the Auror that did the obliviating in the first place and see if they can reverse it."

Hermione sighed, she didn't want to have to kidnap her uncle just to make him remember her, but she also didn't want to live in the same town without him knowing her, she'd have to do the same thing with Bella though. "We'll figure out a plan after dinner, I'd like to get him and my cousin at one time if we can."

Sirius and Remus looked at each other, "Cousin? You've never mentioned a cousin Kitten."

Hermione nodded, "I didn't realize she had moved up here to live with Charlie, last I knew she was living with her mom in Pheonix, after you guys went into the diner I talked with him a bit more and he told me that she had moved up here at the beginning of the summer to finish her schooling with him because her mom and step dad were going on the road for his minor league baseball career. She had left Uncle Charlie because she didn't want to live in Forks anymore and she took Bella with her years ago, I think Bella was probably two or so? I know I was around 6 when I could only see Bella during the Summer hols when she was with her dad. Renee never really liked my mom for some reason, nor me, I remember her telling Charlie that I was a bad influence on Bella, I think it may have been some accidental magic that she had witnessed me doing in front of Bella." She had a thoughtful look on her face.

"Well Kitten, that makes it a bit easier having Bella up here we can just sneak in and check while they're sleeping."

Remus nodded along before they were interrupted by the waitress bringing their food. "Here you go dears." she said before setting Remus's food on the table, followed by Hermione's, "and here's yours" she sat it in front of Sirius without looking at him. "Anything else I can get for you lovelies?" she asked looking at Remus and Hermione, leaving Sirius to yet again pout.

They all cut open their steaks to check the doneness and shook their heads, "everything looks perfect thank you so much." Hermione gave her a grin. Nodding the waitress wandered off to check on her other tables.

The trio continued in silence as they ate their food, periodically stopping to laugh at Teddy or clean him up. Once they finished their food the waitress came back. Clearing the plates, she asked them what flavor cobbler they'd like. Hermione ordered cherry, Sirius blueberry and Remus got peach and a side of ice cream for Teddy. She brought back huge servings of each with a good scoop of ice cream on them and a separate bowl of vanilla ice cream for Teddy. After dessert Sirius paid the check, despite the arguments from the other adults at the table. Leaving the diner, they all hopped back in the car and Hermione drove them towards her Uncle's house, she just wanted to get a look.

Minutes passed and Teddy was out cold, and Remus and Sirius were just enjoying the ride. "That's his house" she pointed out the white two-story house with the cruiser parked in front of it. Parked in the driveway was a beaten-up rusty red truck. She squeaked and drove off when the door of the house opened and out walked who could only be Bella accompanied by a young native boy with really long hair.

"Mina-bird what was that all about? It's not like she could know it was you!" Remus scolded as he held onto the handle above the door for dear life. She slowed down a bit and let the breath she was holding in out.

"I know, I just didn't want her to see this big black vehicle just slowly cruising by and tell her dad, and him pull me over, I want to stay on his good side in case something goes wrong when we look at their heads."

Sirius nodded, "Makes sense kitten, let's just head back to the bed and breakfast and we will discuss the options tomorrow before we go and view the houses okay?"

Hermione nodded and proceeded to take them back to the bed and breakfast. After pulling in Remus unloaded a still sleeping Teddy and Sirius and Hermione beelined for their rooms. Ready to settle in for the night. After bidding the men goodnight and giving Teddy a kiss on the forehead Hermione went into her room and locked the door, warding it and the windows in the process. She may not be near any magical community but she could never be too cautious. After shutting the curtains and magically lighting the fireplace, it may be summer but when the sun went down it got a bit chilly in the old bed and breakfast which didn't have heating.

Stepping out of her clothes and making sure her robe was hanging behind the bathroom door she carefully placed them into the appropriate bags labeled dirty clothes and one labeled delicates before taking her hair out of the plait she had it held back in letting her curls spring loose. Wandering into the bathroom she proceeded to draw herself a bath, grabbing a bottle of milk and honey scented bath oil/bubble bath she placed the appropriate amount into the tub and using her wand as a hair stick, she pulled her sleek yet wild mass of curls up onto the top of her head and stuck it there. Climbing into the tub she let out a low moan at the feeling of the hot water soothing her sore muscles.

She laid in the tub for a few hours periodically doing a wandless heating charm to keep the water hot. During this time, she reminisced about her uncle and cousin and all the fun she used to have with them. She knew she had made the right decision in having their memories of her locked away as her mind wandered from them to the war and her friends back home, thinking of everything she had gone through during the war, so many rounds of the cruciatus curse, being tortured by Bellatrix, being promised to Fenrir Greyback as a reward, thank Morgana that never happened.

She thought about how selfish she had felt making this decision to leave she realized she deserved this bit of freedom and fun. She refused to be held back by the monsters of her past and she was going to make the best of this new start she had. Draining the tub and climbing out, she glanced down at her arm, barely visible now that a healing cream made specifically for dark magic had been invented, by none other than Draco Malfoy, was the word mudblood, you'd have to know it was there to notice it or have very keen eyesight. With a roll of her eyes she snorted, even after the blood adoption Bellatrix had decided she was still a mudblood by birth who was a stain on the Black family name and so she should be branded as one.

Grinning as she remembered hearing how it was Molly who ended the witch's life, exploding her into a thousand tiny pieces. Shaking her head, she pulled her wand out of her hair and dried herself. She walked back into her bedroom and pulled out her pajamas. This was made up of an old thread bare quidditch jersey with the name POTTER on the back, she had swiped it from him somewhere around their 5th year of schooling and had never given it back, it hit just above her knees making it the perfect nightgown. It used to drive Ronald nuts when she would wear it to bed, made him think she was harbouring some feelings for the boy who lived.

Crawling into bed she placed her wand under her pillow and bundled herself up under her covers. As she laid there all she could think about was the next day, house shopping and hopefully restoring her family's memories of her. With a fond smile on her face she fell into a restful sleep for the first time in months, she had so much to look forward to and she couldn't wait.


	9. Home

**All rights to the respective authors**

 **Beta love to Starkiss666**

 **Happy New Year and enjoy the chapter :)**

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Hermione opened her eyes and stretched her hands above her head, blinking tiredly she sat up and realized that for the first time in months she didn't wake up exhausted. She wasn't plagued by her memories or fears, all she felt was excitement. With a smile she hopped out of bed, wand in hand, she rushed over to her suitcase and dug through it, pulling out a pair of black and white houndstooth print dress slacks and a black button up long sleeve top, digging further she pulled out a red satin bra with black lace trim and a matching thong. Rushing to the bathroom she let out a small squeak when she saw the state her hair was in, she had forgotten to braid it before she went to bed. Groaning she dropped her clothes in a heap by the door and reached into her bathroom bag digging out her emergency bottle of sleekeazy's hair potion. She deposited 10 drops into her hand and warmed it up by rubbing her hands together, smoothing it through the birds nest she called her hair she watched the magic happen. The knots untangled and her curls turned into sleek ringlets that fell down her back in a haphazard fashion. She sighed happily, sometimes she couldn't figure out how she ever lived before being introduced to magic.

She grabbed her toothbrush and paste and set to brush her teeth for the allotted two minutes, followed by a round of rigorous flossing and finished with a whitening mouth rinse, some things were better done the muggle way, her teeth never felt as clean with the charm. Smiling at the mirror to check her teeth she grabbed her wand off the sink, pointing it at her face she closed her eyes and uttered her favorite makeup charm. Fleur may think the muggle way looked better but Hermione couldn't deny the simplicity of having a single charm do her entire face of makeup in under five seconds.

Opening them she glanced in the mirror, a simple light smoky eye, darker on the outer corner and crease and a beautiful shimmery gold color on the lid and inner corner, the spell also made her lashes look like she was wearing false eyelashes, not that she needed the help in that department. The look made her eyes pop and she loved it, glancing at her eyebrows she noted the slight imperfection that this spell always left and with a huff she dug out her eyebrow pomade and filled it in properly. She had also grabbed out her favorite MAC lipstick in the shade Faux, it perfectly accented the pink of her plump lips, she smoothed on the satin finish lipstick and followed it by a charm to lock it in place for the day.

She hurried and threw on her clothes tucking her shirt into her pants, before digging in her bag again to find her suede pointed toe shoes with the small 3-inch heel. She unbuttoned her sleeves and rolled them up about a quarter of the way up her arm. Throwing on her heels she cast a cushioning charm on them so she'd be able to wear them all day with no pain. Straightening out she looked in the mirror, she took out all of her earrings but the small white gold hoops and the opal studs right above them. Leaving her necklace and nose ring and of course her charm bracelet on she banished the earrings to their bag. Glancing at her reflection again she wandered back into the bathroom and found her white gold hair clips with a small diamond on the end of both of them, they had been a gift from Remus on her seventeenth birthday, they had belonged to his mother, Hope, she pulled the right side of her hair back and used the two clips to keep it in place.

With a smile towards her reflection she dug out a small black clutch and placed her credit card and cellphone inside, along with her room key. Wand in hand she walked out the door to see the boys coming out of their rooms dressed very smartly. She looked over their outfits while she shut and warded the door to her room. Sirius was wearing a pair of black slacks and a dark grey button up with the sleeves rolled up and top three buttons undone showing off an expanse of his chest and just a peek of his prisoner tattoo, it was neatly tucked into his dress pants. He had trimmed his beard and had pulled his hair back into a loose pony at the nape of his neck tied with a leather string. The look was tied together with matching black leather belt and dress shoes.

Remus had opted for a dark wash jean and a light blue button up with the top few buttons also undone, but he wore a black vest over top. Black leather dress shoes and a matching belt topped off the look along with a leather wrap bracelet Hermione had given him her 6th year, Sirius had a matching one he wore often. Remus had dressed Teddy in a pair of dark jeans, a blue and white plaid button up topped with a dark grey sweater vest that was trimmed in black finishing the look with black velcro sneakers for him. The toddler has decided that it was time for him to dress himself here lately the velcro helped.

After slipping her wand into the deep pocket of her pants, she grabbed Teddy and gave him a big kiss on the cheek, "Look at you Teddy-bear, you are the most handsome man in the building!" Teddy giggled and Hermione laughed at the scandalized gasp Sirius emitted. "Are you boy's ready to go? This first house has 3 bedrooms, plus one convertible office which can be used as a bedroom, there's an en suite through the walk-in closet in the master bedroom and another bathroom upstairs. It does have a full unfinished basement and a two-car attached garage. It sits on 4 acres of land with a river running through the middle and is right on the border of the La Push reservation, it's a twenty-minute drive to town but only a 10-minute drive into La Push." Hermione prattled off the details of the house she had stored with her eidetic memory.

They started walking to the car, Teddy had demanded a ride on Sirius' shoulders to be taller than both men who stood at an impressive 6 foot 2 inches, they towered over Hermione's petite 5-foot 4-inch frame. She walked behind them laughing at the giggles and squeals Teddy was letting out as Sirius ducked and dipped running away from the werewolf chasing them. Turning she saw Dorothy walking across the lawn from her house which was situated just a bit behind and to the right of the bed and breakfast. She waved at the woman who gave her a big smile and a wave back. Hermione unlocked the car as they walked up and hopped into the driver's seat, watching as Remus strapped Teddy in and then jumped in beside him she waited for Sirius to finish his smoke. After he climbed in, she took off down the road, Sirius was preoccupied with trying to find a good rock station, Teddy was chattering away to Remus about nothing in particular and Hermione just smiled and continued on.

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About 20 minutes passed in relative silence when they came across the long winding driveway that lead to the house and turned in. It took a good two minutes for the house to even come into view through the trees, but when it did Hermione gasped. It was even more beautiful than the pictures she had seen, light river stone made up the outside of the house, a wrought iron lined balcony spanned across the front. She couldn't wait to view the inside and she felt her magic hum in contentment, this place was perfect. Glancing at Sirius she noticed his eyes slip shut and a sigh left him, a similar sound came from the backseat. Hermione just grinned, this was it, she didn't even care about the other two houses the realtor had lined up to show her, this was their home, their magic had spoken.

Pulling up the drive she parked in the second stall next to a nice older model car. She climbed out and waited for Remus to unload Teddy before locking the car back up, she patted her pocket to make sure her wand was still there before looping her arm through Sirius's and heading for the front door. The door opened to reveal a stout woman, who looked rather toad-like. Her obviously bleached blonde hair was cut in a short bob and held back from her eyes with a little black headband with a bow on it. Her beady little eyes were framed by a pair of lime colored cat eye glasses which matched the lime green power suit the woman was wearing, Hermione couldn't help but think she looked like what a love child of Umbridge and Rita Skeeter would look like. A shudder passed through her at the thought, shaking her head she extended her hand to the woman, "Hello, I'm Hermione Granger-Black, this is my father, Sirius, my uncle Remus and his son Teddy. I don't believe we've spoken, we were supposed to be meeting a Mrs. Halstrom?"

"Yes, yes I know who you are Ms. Granger, and my colleague had to give me her appointments for the unforeseeable future, it seems her poor husband Leonard isn't doing too well ya see?" the woman replied snidely, "I'm Margaret Crane, you may call me Ms. Crane, come now you were almost late and we have two other properties to view after this one." The woman turned from the group and started back into the house, Hermione let her un shaken hand fall with a scowl. Sirius just chuckled and patted her arm and led them inside after the woman. Hermione couldn't help letting her jaw drop at how gorgeous the interior was, dark hardwood floors, a lovely sitting room with three huge windows facing the front yard, a beautiful fireplace sat surrounded by built in book shelves on the far wall of the dining/sitting room. Continuing on they marveled over the hand bent iron hand rails on the stairs, the kitchen had beautiful soapstone countertops, white cabinets that set off the dark floors beautifully, the backsplash was a grey subway tile which just tied the whole room together. In the middle of the kitchen sat a huge island, it had two small, built in fridge drawers, a wine fridge and a round sink with a built in strainer and cutting boards.

There was a double oven and a gas range that had 6 burners and the hood stained the same color as the floor, the fridge was a French door with two pull out freezer drawers under that, it was made to blend into the cabinets. A walk-in pantry was off to the side between the kitchen and informal living room, it was shut behind a sliding farm door. They followed the plump woman up the stairs, straight across from the stairwell was the bathroom, to the right were all three bedrooms, to the left was the master suite. "Here is the master suite with a walk-through closet that leads to the master bath." Hermione walked in and marveled at the huge closet, the sitting space in front of the huge windows, she continued on into the master bath and was in love with the stand-alone claw foot tub, much like the one at the bed and breakfast, off to the side tucked in a corner was a stand-up shower.

"May we see the basement please?" Hermione turned and asked the woman who had the nerve to roll her eyes at the question.

"If you must but the only thing down there is a second unfinished bathroom and the washer and dryer hookups." She ushered them towards the stairs and started down. Once they reached the first floor, she took them through the informal living room and to a door none of them had noticed before because it blended in with the wall so well. Opening the door she gestured to the stairs, "off you go."

The three adults just shared a look and Hermione let Sirius take the lead down the stairs. Once they reached the bottom Sirius found the light switch and flipped it on, Hermione was already making mental calculations to see if they would need to magically expand the room like they would with the three bedrooms upstairs. Satisfied that there would be more than enough room for a potion's lab and a dueling room she turned to see Remus with a look on his face. "Everything okay there Moony?" she inquired snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Of course, Mina, I was just thinking we may have to actually add a small room off the living room for Teddy to use as a play room." Remus replied with a smile.

"That's a great idea Moony, I was already thinking of adding a mudroom off of the garage so when we come home, we can go in there and rinse off so we don't drag mud through the house, what do you guys think?" She turned inquiring eyes on Sirius, he nodded along with Remus. "Teddy? What do you think of this house?" she asked the toddler who had been oddly quiet the entire time they had looked at the house.

He looked at Hermione and smiled, "Home?"

Hermione grinned, "Yea buddy, I think this is home."

They headed up the stairs to see the Ms. Cane waiting for them with her arms folded across her chest and her foot tapping, when she saw them appear, she glanced at her watch with a scowl. "I wanted to be at the other house by now, chop chop, let's go."

Sirius leveled the woman with a glare, "We don't need to see any more houses, this is the one we want."

The woman spluttered a bit, "well, I really feel you should view the other two houses before making this kind of a decision, you realize this house is on the market for $900k right? The other two might bit a bit more in your, ahem, budget." she sneered at him.

"Ma'am you realize you're speaking to one of the richest men in England? I'm surpassed by only the Royal family and two others. I'd like the name of your supervisor and the number to speak with them please." He sneered right back at the toad. He reveled in the way the woman spluttered some more and her face paled upon the realization she had misjudged them. Snapping his fingers at the woman, "Now please, I want to buy this house but I refuse to continue dealing with you."

Hermione smirked and pulled her cell phone from her handbag, "Here Papa, I have the number to the office saved and I believe her boss's name is Jeff." she handed the phone to him while smirking at the woman who was turning a lovely shade of puce.

"Thanks Kitten, I'll be just a minute." he replied taking her phone and wandering out the front door.

Hermione wandered over to stand beside Remus talking quietly enough that Ms. Cane's ears couldn't pick up what they were saying but she knew it had to be about her because of the glances the little bitch was sending her way.

"I think we're making her nervous." Hermione spoke quietly to Remus while glancing back at the woman periodically.

"I think we are too, I wonder what she thinks we are saying, if only she knew we were just talking about Teddy." Remus replied a smirk on his face as he shifted Teddy to his other arm. "Do you think Sirius is going to close on the house?"

Hermione nodded, "I do, it was foreclosed on so it's being sold by the bank and I bet they will take way less than what they're asking, especially once Sirius is done with them, this woman really struck a chord with him."

Remus nodded, Sirius was used to people looking down on him because of how he dressed or how he acted but it ticked him off to no end when people said things about Hermione or Remus. They both looked towards the door as they heard his footsteps coming up.

"Alrighty Kitten, they're going to be bringing us the keys and paperwork sometime tomorrow, I've arranged it so that your Mrs. Halstrom will be getting the commission from the sale, I told him I absolutely refused to let this bint take our money." Sirius had flung open the front door and started talking as soon as he was in the house.

The woman huffed angerly "you can't expect me to believe my boss is allowing you to steal my commission, I sold this house, I deserve it!" The woman went as far as to stamp her foot to make her point.

Hermione looked at Remus then Sirius and finally back to the toad, "I believe we will be taking our leave now, we shall wait for the paperwork and keys, have a nice day." and she strolled off without a backwards glance to the spitting mad woman. Once to the car she unlocked it and climbed in waiting for everyone else as she started the car. She glanced at the clock noting they had been here for around three hours already, seeing it was 1pm, "Sirius? Did you actually talk to him? Also, is anyone else hungry?"

Sirius nodded, "I did in fact speak with him and apparently Mrs. Halstrom had mentioned what a sweet young woman you were and was happy to help, apparently her husband is the English teacher at Forks High and is fighting a losing fight with prostate cancer, he's not expected to make it to the school year." He shot a sideways look at his daughter sitting in the driver's seat, "I figured she could use the help the commission would give her when it came to funeral costs and whatnot. Muggles can be so chatty about others personal lives. Also, do you even have to ask if we are hungry? It's like you don't know us at all kitten!" He shot her a lopsided grin which she returned.

"What are you hungry for, we just had the diner last night, I bet Dorothy would let us use the kitchen at the bed and breakfast if we asked politely, why don't we stop by the shop and pick up some stuff and I'll make something?"

"Teddy says he wants sketti" Remus piped up from the backseat finishing with a laugh.

"Spaghetti carbonara it is!" Hermione replied, "so we just need some noodles, eggs, olive oil, I wonder if we can get real pancetta here, we will have to see, otherwise a few bacon rashers will work, parmesan, and parsley Teddy, do you want peas?" Hermione had taken to adding veggies in whatever she could because her boys would eat only meat and starches if she let them.

"Peas!" Teddy squealed from the backseat clapping his hands while Sirius groaned.

"Why do you insist on making us eat rabbit food kitten? We are men we need meat and potatoes and butter and beer." He thumped his chest and lowered his voice an octave while speaking making everyone in the car laugh at his behavior.

"You know you need to eat more veggies, a few peas in the carbonara will not kill you papa. If anything, it will help prolong your life, maybe for dinner I'll feed you a salad...without dressing!"

Sirius just mimicked her under his breath crossing his arms. A few minutes went by and they pulled up in front of a muggle grocery shop. "Sirius, why don't you call Dorothy and ask permission seeing as you still have my phone, Remus and I will wander in and get a few things we need anyway, we'll be in the diaper aisle." With that She grabbed Teddy's hand and started for the store. She had only made it a few steps inside looking down at Teddy when she collided with someone. "I'm so so sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going! Are you.." she stopped mid-sentence when she met the eyes of the person in front of her.

"No problems! I'm a klutz! You must be Hermione, my dad told me all about you and your family, it's nice to not be the "new" person anymore, I hated all the attention, oh, I'm Bella by the way Bella Sawn." The girl stuck her hand out for Hermione to shake.

Her mouth had gone dry when she realized who she was looking at, she couldn't mistake those eyes anywhere, just like Charlies and her mum's. Remus cleared his throat behind her snapping her out of her thoughts, "Oh yes! Chief Swan told me I may run into you! I am Hermione, this is Teddy and my Uncle Remus! My papa Sirius should be coming in anytime he just had to make a quick call."

Bella smiled a small smile at her and waved down at the suddenly shy Teddy who was trying to get back to his father and away from the boy standing behind Bella. "This is Jacob Black, he lives on the reservation with his dad Billy."

Hermione couldn't help but notice the way the boy's eyes narrowed at her and Remus as if sensing something was off about them. She noticed he seemed to have grown overnight from what she had seen of him coming out of her uncle's house. Pushing those thoughts away for now she reached out to shake his hand, "Jacob black huh? That's amusing I'm Hermione Granger-Black and my papa is Sirius Black."

"You talking about me again Kitten?" She heard Sirius say from behind her, she turned with a smile.

"Papa, this is Bella Swan, chief Swan's daughter and her friend Jacob _Black_." Sirius's eyebrows climbed his forehead.

"Another Black huh? It's a pleasure to meet you kids, Kitten, Dorothy said it was fine for us to use the kitchen, we might as well get going and get those groceries so we can go eat." He had noticed the way Teddy was inching further behind his father's legs, something was wrong and he felt the need to get his family out of there.

"It was so nice to meet you Bella and Jacob, I hope to see you around!" Hermione waved goodbye to them as Remus said his farewells trying to get Teddy to say bye but the toddler wasn't having any of it.

"I wonder what has Teddy so upset, he did not like that Jacob boy, did you feel the tension rolling off him? I swear I felt a bit of magic lingering around him." Hermione looked at Sirius who just shrugged.

"All I know is I trust Teddy's instincts and he didn't want to be anywhere near that boy, plus I'm hungry so let's get this shopping over with, I'm thinking we need to get some garlic bread and maybe a bottle of wine to go with the carbonara, what do you think Remus? "

Remus had been too focused on whatever was wrong with Teddy to even be tuned into the conversation, "sounds good Pad's I'm going to go grab a bag of diapers for him I used the last one I brought with me last night, I didn't think this far ahead." he scratched the back of his neck and took off in search of what he needed.

"I'll get the wine and the bread, you get the stuff for the carbonara and I'll meet you at the checkout lane, sound good?"

Hermione nodded and grabbed a trolley making a bee line for the pasta section. Sirius watched her go before darting out of the shop following the scent the boy had left. He soon found then climbing into an old beat-up red Chevy he saw the boys head snap towards him and met his eyes in a challenge. O yes, something was off about that boy and Sirius was determined to figure out what it was. He waited for them to leave the car park before heading back into the shop and grabbing the wine and bread like he said he would, keeping a nose out for that scent he wandered up to wait for the rest of his pack to come up with their items.

Remus was the first one back and Sirius was starting to get a little worried because Hermione was taking so long. "Watch these Moony, I'm going to go see what's taking her so long." He handed the bread and wine to Remus and took off for the deli section knowing she'd save the pancetta for last. Winding around the corner he stopped in his tracks and the hair on the back of his neck stood up.

It was that damn scent again but it wasn't coming from that Jacob boy, no this one seemed to be a bit older and a bit taller, his hair wasn't long like the Black boy's was, this one had his hair cropped short, Sirius could see a tattoo on the boy's right upper arm, an inhuman growl low enough not to be heard by normal humans came out of his throat watching this thing interact with his daughter. Hermione and the boy's head snapped his direction, 'strange' Sirius thought, 'I knew Hemione would be able to hear that but how did the boy?'

Hermione shrunk under the weight of the glare her papa was sending her, well not her it seemed but close enough. Turning to Jared she realized he was staring at her papa with something akin to a snarl on his face, she took a step back and that made him look at her. Suddenly Sirius was there with his arm around her, "Kitten, I was getting worried, what took you so long?" He continued to glare at the boy across from him.

"Nothing papa, this is Jared, he's a friend of Bella and Jacobs and he was just getting me the pancetta we needed for lunch." She shrugged his arm off her and turned to Jared, "thank you very much for getting this and it was nice to meet you!" She didn't get to hear him say his goodbyes before Sirius dragged her back up to the checkout lane. Sirius said nothing as he slammed everything out of the trolley onto the conveyor belt. He ignored every attempt Remus and Hermione made to speak to him until they were back in the car where he exploded.

"Did you or did you not notice the scent coming off that boy? Could you not feel the energy? What is wrong with you putting yourself in unnecessary danger like that? I am so disappointed in you. Get back to the bed and breakfast we can talk more there where we are in private." He then turned and glared out the window not saying another word.

Hermione felt like she might cry, she could handle Sirius being mad at her but she couldn't handle disappointing him. You could almost taste the tension in the air by the time they pulled up to the bed and breakfast, Hermione didn't even attempt to get any of the groceries out of the car, she just handed the keys to Remus and took off, presumably up to her room. Teddy had fallen asleep on the car ride back so Remus just left him in the car seat for a minute while he and Sirius got out.

Facing Sirius, he got in his face, "What is your problem? Why did you blow up at Mina like that? What could she have possibly done that was so bad you had to tell her you were disappointed in her? Couldn't you have just said you were angry? You know how she gets about disappointing people Sirius!"

Sirius sighed and pulled the leather strip from his hair, "Do you remember how Teddy hid from the boy that was with that Bella Swan chit? Do you remember the feel of the magic coming off of him and the scent he gave off? He smelled almost like you and me combined, not quite werewolf but not quite dog, I guess he actually smelled a bit more like Hermione, like wolf. Anyway, I went back out to the car park and made sure they left because something was off with him and when I came back and realized how long it was taking her to get back with the little bit of groceries she needed I got worried. So, I went to go find her like you know, well I found her talking to another native boy, but this one, this one smelled so much stronger of wolf, you could just feel the magic coming off him in waves and Hermione was just standing there chatting and smiling at him like nothing was wrong! I was so worried, I might have let a small growl slip, nothing that the muggles could hear but Hermione could and surprisingly so could this boy Jared." Sirius paused and ran his hand through his hair.

"The boy shouldn't have been able to hear me, and the magic he emitted wasn't like ours, it was strange and Hermione said he was friends with that Jacob boy and Bella. I had to get her away from him and I may have let my worry get out of hand. I'm going to go up and apologize to her after we unload the groceries, give her a few minutes to calm down and give myself a few minutes to think up what I need to say."

Remus was watching Sirius not saying anything the entire time, "I smelled them too, you're right, they do smell more like Mina, they're defiantly not normal muggles, I was thinking we may need to do some research about the tribe that lives on the La Push reservation." With that he grabbed a still napping Teddy from the seat and a handful of grocery bags and headed for the house, Sirius following close behind with the rest of the groceries. After they put everything away Remus went up to put Teddy down to let him finish his nap, fully intent on taking one too. Sirius followed him up the stairs but went for Hermione's door instead of his own.

Knocking he called out, "Hermione? Can we talk? I want to apologize for everything kitten, I was just worried." When she didn't answer he tried knocking again. Nothing. Sighing he tried the handle expecting to find it locked, so he was surprised when the door opened without force. "Kitten?" he called out again. He didn't hear the shower running or the sound of water in the tub, plus the bathroom door was wide open and the light was off. Pulling his wand out of his pocket he walked further into the room only to notice that one of the windows by the bed was completely open and Hermione was nowhere to be found. Running over to the window he looked out "Hermione?!" he called worriedly. When no response came, he bolted over and burst into Remus's room. "Hermione isn't in her room and her window was open and she's gone!"

Moony just sat there for a minute comprehending the quickly spoken words that tumbled out of Sirius's mouth before the shock set it, "She's gone?"


	10. Remember

_**All credit for characters you know go to the original authors, I own nothing**_

 _ **Shout out to starkiss666 again for being my beta**_

 _ **Enjoy the first chapter of the new year!**_

 _ **As always constructive criticism welcome!**_

 _ **and again pinterest for this story which includes** **outfits** **, hairstyles, houses etc is**_

 _ **www . pinterest darkerthanthedarksideofthemoon**_

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Hermione didn't even stop when she got into the bed and breakfast, she stormed up the stairs, her hair was sparking at the tips and she needed to get away. Tears burned her eyes as she slammed the door shut not bothering to lock it. She wasn't sad no, she was pissed, pissed that Sirius had humiliated her, pissed at herself for giving him a reason to be disappointed in her, of course she had noticed the magic surrounding Jared, of course she could smell him. She ran her hands through her hair, grabbing and tugging it, letting out a frustrated groan she walked over to the window and threw it open. Relishing in the fresh air she started to calm down, until she caught a scent on the breeze, her entire body stiffened once she recognized it. It smelled like Jared, she looked behind her at the door listening carefully for the tell-tale sounds of Sirius's footsteps coming up the stairs, when she didn't hear them, she made up her mind. She leaned out the window, estimating the distance to the ground to be about 9 meters she pulled herself out the window, sitting on the sill with her back facing outside, she let go and pushed herself out. Free-falling for just a second before she let the shift happen, spreading her wings she soared into the sky taking off into the woods not too far from the bed and breakfast, following the wind she sped through the trees her sharp eyesight locked onto a couple figures blurring through the woods in front of her.

Gathering her magic into her wings she took off faster than a normal eagle could fly, keeping a good distance between the blurs and herself she followed them until they suddenly stopped. She landed on a branch high up in a tree behind the figures. Wolves, huge fucking wolves, bigger than her and Sirius that's for sure, they rival Moony in the height but they looked like real wolves, they obviously weren't children of the moon if they were running in their other skin during the day. Their magic didn't smell like hers though, so they weren't animagi, she cocked her head to the side watching the way they seemed to communicate silently. She flew closer, landing on a lower branch right behind them. She knew they couldn't smell her as she had hidden her scent for years now, it was a second nature to her now, she did it without even thinking.

She felt the magic swell around them and watched as they transformed into Jared and another boy she'd never met, if she had been in her human form, she would've been bright red, the boys were not clothed! She made sure to keep her eyes locked on their faces as they spoke.

"What do you mean she didn't have a scent, everyone has a scent Jared!" the boy she didn't know stated.

"I'm telling you Paul, the girl had no scent, I mean I could smell her perfume or bath oil or something but her true scent wasn't there! Then when that man, the one she called her father came up I could smell him, he smelled like us, but different. Bro I don't know what it was about that girl though but she just drew me in, something about her made me feel safe." Jared scratched his head while he spoke.

"Well we know she's not your imprint, you already imprinted on Kim!" Paul nudged him while laughing. "but maybe the reason you felt safe around her is she's one of the others imprints? I mean you know Jake is getting ready to phase soon, Embry has already phased and hasn't imprinted on anyone, and then there's Sam, granted I doubt Sam will imprint on anyone if Leah is still around him, I know they broke up and all but she still scares every woman interested in Sam off before he even gets a whiff of them."

Both boys laughed at that, they knew how rare imprints were, the fact that Jared had imprinted within a few days of phasing for the first time was amazing. The boys shifted back and headed towards La Push not noticing the eagle sitting in the tree watching them leave. She waited till she couldn't hear or see them anymore and flew down to the ground, slipping back into her human form she stood there, the only thought in her mind was of something she had read years ago about skin walkers, she didn't think that was the right term for what the boys were but it's as close as she could think of. Pulling her wand out of her pocket she cast a few detecting spells used by aurors to trace magical residue, seconds later a red glow permeated the area showing a trace amount of magic, but not magic like hers, no, her magic along with every other witch and wizards would have made the area glow blue, this was very interesting. The spell registered that there was magic in the air but it couldn't tell her what kind of magic it was. This was something new, something the Ministry of Magic had never encountered, she couldn't say for sure if MACUSA knew about them or not but she couldn't wait to study them.

Waving her wand and ending the spell she pocketed it again. Turning back into her eagle form she headed back towards the bed and breakfast. Flying in through the window she landed just inside and transformed back to her human form. She squealed when her door was thrown open by a very angry looking werewolf. She stood completely still as she looked up into his amber tinted eyes, the moon was still a week or so away but Moony was making his presence known here and now.

"Just where the fuck have you been? No note, you're just gone, window open, Sirius was out trying to track you hoping you had taken off in your wolf form but obviously there was no luck there! Mina what the hell is wrong with you? We thought something had happened!" Moony ground all this out his fists clenched at his side.

Hermione lowered her eyes and tilted her head to the side, sighing when Moony rushed over and checked her over for any injuries or scents that he didn't like. Once he was satisfied, he leaned over and nipped her nose like he would a misbehaving pup. Hermione held down the whimper that threatened to spring up, swallowing hard she looked up at Remus whose eyes were starting to go back to normal.

"I didn't mean to worry you guys, but I just caught a scent on the wind that I wanted to check out, so I followed it and I figured out why Jared smelled so funny." She grinned when his head cocked to the side,

"Oh? What exactly did you find out?"

"They're skin-walkers, like the native American folklore, they change into huge fucking wolves Moony! Huge! Bigger than me and bigger than Sirius, they rival you in height when you're changed but they look like true wolves not werewolves!"

Remus stood still absorbing the information he just heard, skin walkers, that would explain why they smelled so much like Hermione. He opened his mouth the ask her what else she found when Hermione started talking over him again.

"I also, did the magia revelatum est and it showed traces of magic, but here's the thing Remus, it glowed red! Not blue, so whatever brand of magic this is isn't known by our ministry! I don't know if MACUSA knows about them or not but do you think we should inform them of what we've found?" Hermione looked up at him her eyes glowing with curiosity and wonder. "Remus we could be the first to ever study these people! What do you think?"

Remus smiled gently at her enthusiasm, "Mina, I think we need to call back your father, he's going to be worried sick, he thought you just ran off."

Hermione looked guilty, "I did just run off, I was pissed, more pissed at myself than anything but I needed to get away and clear my head, then I caught Jared's scent and decided that was the perfect distraction, though looking back, it probably wasn't the best option considering that's what papa was upset with me about in the first place." She glanced at Remus, "Is he going to be mad at me still? Why doesn't he think I can take care of myself?"

He sighed, "Mina, you need to remember that we are a pack, you, me, padfoot, Harry and Teddy. Mina we already lost our pack before, we can't lose you too, I don't think either of us would survive it this time love." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "It's hard being this far from Harry, the pack bond is strained because of it, but having the rest of you here helps, I think Sirius can feel it more than the rest of us, he just wants you to be safe and happy, hence why we are here." He shot her a grin that she matched.

They both turned to the door as they heard Sirius's footsteps pounding up the stairs, Hermione shot Remus a nervous glance before walking towards the door it suddenly flew open before she could reach it and in rushed Sirius, "Moony! I couldn't find her, the little shit must have taken off in her eagle form, what are we going to do? What if she doesn't come back? What..."

Hermione interrupted him, "Papa, I'm here I'm sorry I took off, I just needed a breather."

Sirius didn't even glance at her before waving his hand, "Not now Kitten, Moony and I need to find Hermione. Moony, maybe we should call the cops, see if anyone has any..." he stopped mid-sentence and spun around to look at Hermione, "Kitten! You're back!" he rushed forward and scooped her up into a big hug, "I'm so so so sorry kitten, I love you so much and I promise I was just worried, I didn't mean to make you mad, you're not stupid and you're definitely not a disappointment to me!"

Hermione sighed, "Oh Papa, I know you didn't mean it, I love you too." She snuggled into his embrace relishing in the faded smell of leather, cigarettes and his cologne, a spicy musky scent she couldn't get enough of. "Nothing is ever going to take me away from you okay?" She pulled away and looked up at him.

Sirius nodded and pressed a kiss to the top of her head, "we should go start making dinner, we need to come up with a plan for how we are going to get into chief swan's house without him noticing. I was thinking that we should go about midnight? What do you think?"

About that time Remus looked towards to the door, "Teddy is waking up I'm going to go get him changed and we will meet you downstairs in the kitchen." He didn't wait for a reply as he started towards the hallway.

Hermione had been pondering how to get in also, "I think midnight will be fine, I think it'd be best if we disillusioned ourselves along with an obvolvere to our shoes, Harry used to use that one after he started his auror training to spook us, made it so we couldn't hear his footsteps, I think the only person it didn't work on was Moony. I was determined to learn it to pay him back for all the times he spooked me!" She smiled at the memories of the times she Ginny and Luna made it their mission to scare Harry, once it ended up with him falling out of a tree and into the swimming hole that was nestled in a grove between the burrow and Luna's house. She shook her head and focused back on project at hand. "I think I'll sneak into Bella's room, you can take Charlie, someone is going to need to stay with Teddy. I also think we need to apparate into the woods behind the house, I don't think we should drive there, the vehicle we have is too noticeable. I can side-along you to the woods because there's a place Bella and I used to play at that I can use to get us there."

Sirius nodded, with the plan settled they both headed for the kitchen, Hermione had the pasta boiling in a pot while Sirius opened the wine to let it breathe. Hermione hand the pancetta crisping in a pan with olive oil on the stove, frozen peas were boiling along and the garlic bread was warming in the oven. While she was waiting for everything to get done, she whisked eggs, salt, pepper and parmesan cheese in a bowl setting it aside. Once the spaghetti was done, she drained it saving just a bit of the water to make the sauce, she drained the peas and left them in the strainer. Adding the noodles to the pancetta pan she quickly tossed the noodles to coat them in the oil, this was followed by her drizzling the egg mixture onto the noodles while she continued tossing them to keep the eggs from scrambling, once all the mixture was gone she poured the left over noodle water into the pan and tossed it some more making a creamy sauce, to finish she added the peas before scooping up servings onto three plates and a little into a bowl for Teddy. Sirius had pulled out the bread and was slicing pieces and adding them to the plates.

Remus had wandered down with Teddy in one arm and a sippy cup in his other hand, he transfigured a chair into a high chair for Teddy, he placed him in it and wandered into the kitchen finding the milk in the fridge and filling the sippy with it. He put that on the table in front of the toddler and then headed back to the kitchen. He found some wine glasses and grabbed three before also grabbing the open bottle of wine and heading to the table. Pouring each adult a half glass of wine he placed the bottle on the other side of the table from Teddy and took his seat as Sirius and Hermione came out each with their plates, Hermione also had Teddy's cut up spaghetti bowl and Sirius had Remus's in his other hand. With a flourish Sirius deposited the plates and summoned the parmesan and grater from the kitchen to garnish the food.

"Ow' much vould you like madame?" Sirius asked in a horrible fake French accent, gesturing to the cheese he held, Hermione giggled and waved her hand for him to start, he added a bit and watched for her signal to stop, with another laugh she waved her hand again when he had put just the right amount. He smiled and turned to Remus "and for your monsieur?" Remus just nodded and let him go to town adding a lot of cheese to his plate, a good minute passed before he told him to stop. Sirius danced over to where Teddy was sitting and clapping his hands at the over exaggerated was Sirius was moving and talking, "and for the young monsiuer I'm sure he vould vant some fromage." He grated a tiny amount onto Teddy's food, relishing in the giggles he drew out of the toddler. He then added some to his food and banished the cheese and grater back to the kitchen with a wave of his hand.

After the meal Remus went upstairs to give Teddy a bath, Hermione and Sirius were hand washing the dishes as there wasn't a dishwasher in the house and they didn't want to risk that much magic in the kitchen, seeing as they hadn't protected the appliances from being overloaded and destroyed by their magic.

"So, Kitten, tell me, what were you doing when you left today?" Sirius caught the clean, wet plate she had dropped in surprise at the question. He looked at the paleness of her face, "Hermione? Are you okay?"

She sighed and nodded, "I went for a fly, after smelling Jared somewhere close. I followed him and another boy through the woods to a clearing, but they weren't human when I was following them. They're skin-walkers, they turn into huge wolves. They're not animagi because when they transform they lose their clothes. I also did the magia revelatum est and it glowed red, meaning there was magic but it's nothing our Ministry has ever come into contact with." She looked up at Sirius waiting for him to respond, she watched his face reveal many different emotions before settling on what she could only guess was exasperation.

"Kitten, I'm not going to say I'm not angry that you put yourself in danger, again, but I know you. Everyone thought Harry was the trouble magnet but I firmly believe it was you who attracted the danger. Also, I believe we will be contacting MACUSA about these skin-walkers you've encountered, we will also be going somewhere to research this tribe that lives here. See if we can't make a little discovery ourselves." He smiled when she lit up at the mention of research. "I'm going to run upstairs and get Moony and see if we can't.." He trailed off looking out the window behind her, "someone's coming up the drive, go upstairs and wait with Moony while I see who it is. It isn't Dorothy."

Hermione opened her mouth to argue but immediately snapped it shut at the look on her father's face, "I'll just go see if Moony has Teddy dressed." she mumbled, annoyed she didn't get to stay. She headed for the stairs stopping to look back at Sirius once more, he shooed her on as he shoved his hand in his pocket, probably gripping his wand. She sighed and continue up the stairs, when she hit the landing, she heard ringing coming from her room, she rushed in and grabbed her ringing cell phone. Looking at the screen a smile broke out on her face, "Andromeda! How are you?"

"Hermione dear, I tried calling Remus but it went straight to voicemail, I didn't even try Sirius because I know he never keeps that thing charged. I just wanted to see how you were settling in, Michael and I have been in China since the wedding, we are thinking of spending a few more days here and then going to Italy, I believe. How is everything there?"

Hermione sighed, "It's a little complicated, my uncle's daughter is apparently here to live now, she hasn't lived here in years. There's also a native tribe here that apparently are skin walkers they can transform into huge wolves, not like Remus, but real wolves, just giant. I'd say they're almost as tall as moony when he's transformed. There's also the issue of the fact that they're not magical, well they are obviously but not like us."

Andromeda hummed on the other side of the line, "Let me speak to Michael, he's been around that area before, maybe he'll know someone or something there that can help you identify them. Now, speaking of Remus, is there any way I can chat with him? I'd like to speak to Teddy and tell him I miss him."

"Of course, let me just run across the hall, he was giving Teddy a bath, I'll take over for him while you two chat." with that she bolted across the hall banging on the bathroom door from Sirius's side.

Remus opened it, "Andromeda is on the phone, she wants to chat with you, I'll finish his bath while you chat. Also, papa kicked me out of the downstairs because someone was coming up to the house and it wasn't Dorothy, mind checking that out for me?"

Remus's face split into the grin and he grabbed the phone, chattering excitedly to Andy on the other side, Hermione just shook her head with a smile and turned to see Teddy had bubblegum pink hair and the bubbles in the tub were charmed all different colors. Her eyes teared up a bit seeing that color on Teddy, it was Tonk's favoured shade of pink. She rolled her sleeves up and kicked off her heels, kneeling on the floor by the tub she tickled Teddy's belly and finished rinsing the shampoo out of his hair. She let him play for another five minutes before getting him out and rubbing him dry with a huge fluffy towel that was in the room. She wrapped him up and pulled part of the towel over his head, scooping him into her arms she headed for Remus's room, she plopped him on the bed making him bounce and squeal with laughter.

She glanced around finding a neatly folded pair of blue pajamas with black wolf heads howling at a full moon on them. She snorted and grabbed them and a pair of pull ups for him to wear to bed. She finished drying him off and cast a warming charm on him drying charm on his hair, she got him dressed and brushed his hair also casting the teeth cleaning spell on him afterwards they settled into the arm chair and Hermione conjured up his favorite muggle bedtime story, 'Oh the places you will go' by Dr. Suess. She made it about halfway through before Teddy was out cold, she picked him up gently and laid him in the cot that was next to Remus's bed she picked up his stuffed dragon which had fallen out onto the floor, she tucked it in next to him under his fuzzy blanket he loved so much.

Picking up her wand she cast a protective bubble around the cot that would alert her if Teddy tried to get out of the cot, along with if anything tried to get in said cot. Once she was satisfied that he was safe she warded the windows of the room and headed out the door locking it behind her. She padded down the hall towards the stairs, she paused at the top listening to the deep rumbles that told her Sirius and Remus were talking, she was far enough away that she couldn't make out the words, then another higher voice joined the mix and they all laughed. Deciding it was okay to come down she trotted down the stairs and made a bee line for the sitting room off the kitchen.

Turning the corner she stopped when she saw them sitting there, Sirius and Remus were perched on the armchairs while another older looking man was sat on the couch facing them and the doorway she entered from. When his eyes snapped up to see her it made Remus and Sirius turn to face her, Sirius extended his hand and beckoned her over.

"Hermione! Come meet Mr. Tully, he's Ms. Cane and Mrs. Halstrom's boss. Jeff this is my daughter Hermione."

She walked over as the man stood and she shook his hand, "It's a pleasure Mr. Tully."

The man smiled, "Please, call me Jeff. It's a pleasure to be speaking with you as well! Anna told me you were such a nice young woman, I am terribly sorry for the way Ms. Crane acted towards you! She has been thoroughly reprimanded and she is currently on un-paid leave until the owner of the company decides what to do with her. Esme is such a soft-hearted woman I don't know if she'll fire her but I do know she doesn't stand for this sort of thing."

Jeff had sat back down and picked up a glass of water that was on the coffee table in front of him, Hermione wandered over and sat on the tall ottoman sitting near Sirius.

Sirius perked up at that, "Esme? I was under the impression you were the owner of the company?"

Jeff shook his head, "No sir, I'm just the big boss, but even I answer to Esme, that's Esme Cullen, she's Doctor Cullens wife, when they moved here a few years ago she decided she wanted to do something with her time instead of just being a housewife, they have five adopted children, all high school age you see, so she started this real estate business in Forks, and it flourished because before this the only real estate company that people used was based out of Port Angeles, which made it extremely annoying for anyone looking to sell their house, or property."

Hermione looked stunned at the name Cullen, she sat there for a minute making sure she heard him right. She looked at Remus who seemed to be reading her mind.

"Do you need me for anything?" She looked at Sirius and then cut her eyes towards Remus as she asked, Sirius got the hint.

"No kitten, go on up to bed, I think Remus here was just going to check on Teddy, Mr. Tully and I are just going to finish signing these papers and then I'll be up."

She smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "It was a pleasure Mr. Tully, thank you so much for helping us with this house, and please, give Mrs. Halstrom our best wishes for her and her family."

With a nod she headed for the stairs waiting for Remus to follow her. Once he was by her side they walked upstairs together, he handed her the phone she had given him earlier as he said he'd meet her in her room after he poked his head in on Teddy. She wandered into her room and pulled her bag off her bracelet digging in, her arm going in all the way to the shoulder trying to find the singular book she could find on the vegetarians she was here to study. Finally, after digging for a minute she felt the soft cover and pulled it out, putting her bag back on she lit the fire wandlessly and settled into one of the chairs flipping to the page she was looking for.

"Carlisle Cullen, the known founder of the Olympic coven, was the first to be changed and the first to discover he could live off animal blood instead of human. He was once a part of the infamous Volturi coven, which the European wizarding world has an agreement with. Other known members are Esme Cullen, his wife, and their adopted son Edward Cullen. Not much else is known about the "vegetarian" vampires as no one has studied them."

Hermione snapped the book shut and tilted her head back sighing.

"Well, that certainly explains the look you had on your face when Mr. Tully said Esme Cullen was the owner of the firm he works for." Remus's voice rang out through the quiet room. "So, you definitely know you're in the right place."

She looked up at him, "the book only states that they had one adopted child, do you think he made more?"

Remus shrugged, "He might have, no one knows Mina, that's why you're here. I think you might need to take advantage of this, Mr. Tully said the "children" are high school age, Mrs. Halstrom's husband was the English teacher, I bet they're going to be looking for a substitute to replace him for the year if he doesn't get better. Maybe you can observe them by being there, see how the interact around humans."

Hermione sat there thinking that over, "That could work!" About that time Sirius came up the stairs.

Throwing a set of keys at both of them, "Do you have everything ready to move? These are the keys to the house, I replicated a permanent set for both of you, we can move in whenever. I Know Teddy is sleeping Moony so it's your choice, do you want to move tonight or wait till the morning?"

Remus pondered that for a moment, "Why don't you two go ahead and move your stuff over and in, Teddy and I will be along tomorrow, you're going to have a late night heading over to Charlie's here in an hour or two, I'll just nap with Teddy and when you come back from the memory fun, him and I will move too."

They both nodded, "Also, Mina, you might want to talk to Sirius about what you figured out, and the plan we came up with."

Hermione grinned at him, before giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek, promising to see him in a few hours. Remus wandered over to his room and laid down for a nap.

"So, kitten, what's this plan you've figured out with Moony?" He sat himself in the chair next to her, clasping his hands under his chin and staring at her.

"Well, when Jeff said Esme Cullen owned the firm, the name struck a chord with me. So, when I came back up here, I dug out that book that mentioned the vegetarian vampires, and I was right, their name was Cullen, specifically Carlisle and Esme Cullen along with their adopted son Edward. The book doesn't mention anything about three other children. So, when I mentioned this to Remus he said, since these "children" are high school age, and Mrs. Halstrom's husband was the English teacher there, maybe the school will be looking for a substitute. He recommended I apply and see if I get the spot, so I can observe them without having to, I don't know, stalk them?" She watched his face, seeing the emotions flashing across his features before settling on acceptance.

After what felt like forever, he spoke, "Well kitten, I don't think that's a bad idea, you'll be in a public environment and you'll be safer watching them there, plus you can see how they interact with humans."

Hermione nodded at him, "Exactly! Although, the one who really interests me is Carlisle, Mr. Tully said he's a doctor! How can he stand to be around all the human blood he would have to deal with!? Do you think his control is that extreme?" She thought back to their sixth year and the vampire Sanguini who had been brought to the slug club party, he had amazing control being tempted by all the young, healthy students at the party, but that wasn't with open wounds and flowing blood. Shaking her head, she focused back on Sirius.

"Go pack your stuff kitten, I'm going to go load up what I have here, we can run everything to the house. Then I want you to give me a rundown of the plan for tonight, meet me in the front room. I'll bet there in 15 minutes." He patted her head and left the room.

Hermione summoned all her clothes and placed them in her suitcase, she walked into the bathroom doing the same thing, loading everything into her bathroom bag and then banishing it all to her suitcase. After everything was packed, she triple-checked before taking down the wards on her windows, and removing the sutras from the electronics in the room. Satisfied that she had everything, she shrunk it all and put it into her beaded bag she had pulled off her bracelet, doing one more sweep over the room before putting the bag back on the bracelet.

Walking out of the room she went downstairs and stood there waiting for Sirius, thinking back to the last time she was in her uncles' house. If she remembered correctly both of the bedrooms were upstairs, and the stairs were directly in from the front door. Bella's was on the left and her uncle's was on the right, it shouldn't be too hard sneaking in the back door that lead into the kitchen and up the stairs without anyone hearing them, she would have to remember to warn Sirius that sometimes Charlie would fall asleep in front of the t.v. or at least he used to.

She was still lost in her thoughts when a hand on her shoulder snapped her back to reality, she jumped and spun around. Seeing it was just Sirius she put her hand to her chest in an attempt to calm her erratically beating heart.

"Damn it, Sirius, you scared me!" she scolded him, smacking him on the arm when he started laughing.

"You have heightened senses and still get lost in your own world unable to sense anything. Do you have everything packed?"

She nodded and held her hand up shaking it to make the charms shake, he just grinned at her in response.

"Should we take the car to the house?" He questioned her.

"Let's just apparate because then Moony can take the car with Teddy when they wake up, we have to apparate into the woods behind Charlies house anyway."

He nodded and they wandered out the front door together, heading towards the tree line beside the bed and breakfast where Hermione had landed with the portkey a couple days ago.

"See you there kitten." With a wink towards her he spun on the spot and disappeared with a quiet pop. She followed seconds later and landed on the front step of the house, the door was open so she just wandered in, Sirius was already making his way up the stairs so she followed. She started to wander to the closest bedroom on the right when she felt him grab her arm.

"Where do you think you're going?" He asked, "That's my room, this one is Moony's and the one we will convert is Teddy's you're getting the master suite." he nodded his head towards that door and gave her a light push that way.

"What? No, Sirius you bought the house you get the master suite! I'm fine with just the room!" She spun around trying to head back that way, she squealed when she was picked up and thrown over a shoulder.

"Kitten, you're taking the master suite, end of discussion, Moony and I already decided it." She huffed and settled for smacking him on the back before he deposited her in the middle of the empty room.

He smirked at her and strolled across the landing to the bedroom she had been heading for, she stood in the doorway with her arms crossed and scowling as she watched him summon his boxes from the storage unit. Resizing them and looking at the labels to see what he had in what box. She just sighed and followed his example, there was no changing his mind when he and moony decided something.

She cast a quick tempus and saw that it was already 11pm, so she just summoned the box that had her dresser, a pair of chairs, a small coffee table and somethings like a dirty linens basket. She arranged one of her chairs to have the huge windows behind them, placing the short black table in front of the chair. The other chair she sat where her bed would go once she bought a new one, for tonight she'd just transfigure the chair into a small cot. She probably wouldn't be getting much sleep tonight anyway, she placed the dresser and the linen basket in the closet and summoned her boxes of clothes. Using a simple spell, she watched as everything unpacked itself and either hung itself up or tucked itself away in the drawers of the dresser. She pulled her bag off and resized everything she had in there that was going to stay at the house clothing wise and toiletries wise.

After that there wasn't much more she had to summon besides her books and the kitchen stuff but that could all wait till tomorrow. Walking into her closet she stripped out of the nice outfit she had on and pulled her hair up into a ponytail, digging in a drawer she pulled out her favorite pair of black yoga pants and pulled a black hoodie out of her collection, throwing them on she dug out her old pair of worn black trainers and a pair of no-show socks.

Once she was ready she cast another tempus and saw it was finally about midnight, heading over to Sirius's room she saw him coming out.

"Sirius, I wanted to tell you, Uncle Charlie sometimes falls asleep in his chair watching tv, we will apparate, I'll side along you, to the spot Bella and I used to play a little ways into the woods behind her house, then we will head into the house through the back door that leads into the kitchen, from there we can go into the living room and if Charlie is there, I'll leave you to it and I'll head upstairs to Bella's room, if he's not there we will both be going upstairs and Charlie's room is the last door down the hall, Bella's is right at the top of the stairs. We will meet back at the door in the kitchen and return to the spot we apparated to, and I will apparate back here and you will go get Remus and Teddy, sound good?"

She watched as he processed the information she had given him and smiled when he nodded.

"It shouldn't take me more than twenty minutes to break the lock on your uncles' memories, do you think you'll need more time?"

Hermione thought about it, she had done some reading on the spell MACUSA used to lock muggles memories, shaking her head she replied, "I don't think so, maybe 30 minutes tops, it depends on how strong the lock is but I don't think it will be a problem, are you ready to go?" She glanced at him, noting he had his hair pulled back in a low ponytail again and was dressed in a pair of black slacks and a black long sleeve polo, she giggled at the fact they looked like two robbers, all they needed was the masks. He must have caught her train of thought because he huffed out a laugh too. He nodded and held out his hand tightening the hold he had on her when she grasped his.

"All right Sirius, here we go, hold on tight I don't want to splinch you!" with that she spun on the spot pulling him with her. Seconds later they landed right next to her favorite tree that had a branch that had grown sideways and had a flat spot right next to the trunk that made the perfect spot to sit and read while she watched Bella play. She shook the thoughts out of her head and started walking the direction the house was in, they had made it all of 20 steps when they both froze, their heads snapping in sync to look behind them. Hermione glanced up at Sirius.

"You heard that too? Do you smell it?" she whispered quietly enough that only Sirius could hear her.

"I heard it, I smell it, it's that damn Black boy, apparently he's one of the wolves, he had the scent of that Jared boy but not quite as strong, now it's almost overwhelming." he replied back still staring into the dark trying to make out the shape of the boy, not realizing he should be looking for a wolf not a man.

Hermione followed his line of sight catching a glimpse of a huge brown wolf as it darted out of sight into some underbrush.

"He's changed, he's a wolf now, I just saw him or at least I'm assuming it's him seeing as his is the only scent I can find." She murmured, turning back towards the house, "he won't bother us anyway, once we disillusion ourselves and obvolvere our feet he won't be able to find us, he can't scent me anyway, you should cover yours just to be safe." He nodded and suddenly the smoky scent she loved disappeared from around her. With a nod she continued towards the house, when they finally reached the tree line she looked at Sirius who cast obvolvere on both of their feet while she disillusioned them.

Sirius grabbed the hood of her sweatshirt and she started towards the house, crossing the yard in quick steps, once she reached the back door a simple alohamora had them inside, she breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed Charlie was upstairs sleeping. Heading up the stairs she felt Sirius release her hood and waited till she saw Charlies door open and close quietly before she entered Bella's room. She padded silently to the edge of her bed and raised her wand. "Intrabit in animum" she whispered watching the telltale purple glow form on the end of her wand, she pressed it to her temple leaving a purple X on the side of her head, she pulled her wand slowly away a smoky purple wisp followed as she pressed her wand to Bella's temple. Cutting the magic from her wand she saw a matching purple X form on Bella's head. She sat down on the floor next to the bed and leaned against it before whispering "incipere" her eyes slid shut as she dove into the mind of her cousin, coming face to face with a big brick wall.

"Well fuck me" she whispered as she pressed her hand against the wall, "it's like she's practicing occlumency!" She walked along the wall keeping her hand against it feeling blindly for any cracks, finally she found a loose brick, pushing lightly she watched as the brick shifted and fell out leaving just a big enough gap she could slip into the depths of Bella's mind. She quickly sorted through her memories searching for the locked box that surrounded the memories of her and her family. She stopped suddenly when she came across a memory string that she felt the need to see, it was a new memory from earlier today, tugging it she watched as it expanded into a screen the memory playing out in front of her.

She gasped at what she saw, Bella had gotten hurt, scratched by one of those damn wolves! Jacob had phased for the first time to protect her after she got a good gash across her right shoulder from Paul. Hermione made a note to take a look at the scratch, but what had caught her eye was the doctor Bella had been taken to by her father. Pale skin, bright golden eyes, very light blond hair and a dusting of facial hair, Hermione froze the memory in place staring at what could only be the vampire doctor. Making a split-second decision she made a copy of Bella's memory to show Sirius and Remus, storing it in a vile she dug out of her little bag, before letting the memory continue. She watched as the vampire (Carlisle) cleaned and stitched the scratches with amazing precision, his eyes never even changed shades of gold, meaning he wasn't affected by the scent of her blood at all, just as the memory cut out Bella's eyes snapped to something in the corner of the room by the door, Hermione growled at what she saw. Another vampire, this one's eyes started to turn almost black at the smell of Bella's blood, she watched as the "teenager" rushed out of the room letting the door slam behind him, she had to give him credit for getting out of that situation.

Sighing she put the memory back into its string form and continued on finding the box, suddenly the memories she was pulling on got tight, harder for her to pull apart and search. She grinned reaching her hand into a tangle of memories and felt something hard in there. She grasped it and with a triumphant smirk she pulled it loose, it reeked of magic so she knew it was what she was looking for. Pulling out her wand it pressed the tip to the lock on the top, "memorias revelare" as soon as the last part of the word fell from her lips the box flew open and dissolved, the memories it contained snapping into place where they belonged. Satisfied she whispered her "finite" her eyes snapped open and she stood up placing her wand on the X still visible on her cousin's head watching as it slowly disappeared and drew her wand pulling the purple mist back into her own mind before pressing the tip of her wand against her own X making it disappear too.

She jumped a bit when Bella snored and rolled over, stifling a giggle she started to leave the room before she stopped and pulled the covers off her shoulder looking at the bandage covering the stitches she had, shaking her head she covered Bella back up and headed down to the back door seeing a tempus floating in the air, she glanced at it and gasped, she had been in Bella's mind for almost 50 minutes! She crept forward grabbing at the shimmer that was Sirius's arm, she heard him sigh quietly in relief and led them out the door before locking it behind him. She felt him give her a hug before he disapparted with a quiet pop, she followed suit but headed to their new home. Once she landed in her room, she finited the disillusion and the obvolvere before going into her closet and pulling off the clothes she was wearing trading them out for a pair of fuzzy pajama bottoms and a tank top, she pulled her hair out of the ponytail and quickly put it into a side braid before she headed to her bathroom and brushed her teeth and washed her face. As she walked through the closet she dug in the bottom drawer of her dresser and pulled out an extra blanket and pillow, she headed back to her room and transfigured her chair into a small plush cot and she climbed in covering up with the blanket and falling asleep almost immediately with a smile on her face, happy she had gotten her family back.


	11. Welcome to the Family

**Cold weather here where I am means you guys get another chapter!**

 **Hope you all enjoy!**

 **As always much love to my beta starkiss666**

* * *

Hermione woke up the next morning to a small finger poking her cheek, she opened her eyes and turned her head to see a tuft of bright green hair duck down the side of the bed and out of sight. She let out a huffing laugh and rolled over getting ready to catch him when he came up to poke her again. Sure enough a couple seconds later the head poked back up and she grabbed him around the belly and pulled him up onto the cot with her causing him to scream and yell for his daddy to help him. Hermione pinned him to her and showered him with kisses making him squeal and giggle louder, she stopped when she heard laughing coming from the doorway. She smiled up at Remus and she let Teddy go who went flying into the arms of his father.

"Miney kissed me!" Teddy stuck his tongue out with a look of disgust.

Remus laughed, "I warned you she was going to get you if you woke her up but you did it anyway!" he poked Teddy in the tummy, "Sirius is downstairs and has breakfast, he told me to come wake you up but Teddy beat me to it." He looked at her when he said this, leaving the room when she nodded and stretched.

Climbing out of bed she used a wandless teeth cleaning charm, she hated brushing her teeth before breakfast but couldn't stand to have morning breath till after she ate. Wandering out of her bedroom she headed down the stairs and to the kitchen, she saw the men standing around the island and Teddy was perched on top of it chowing down on some fresh cut fruit and had a sippy cup of milk sitting next to him. The men each had a pastry of some sort in their hands and to go cups of coffee steaming in front of them. She spied another pastry and a steaming cup of something, probably tea, sitting next to them, she padded over and pulled the top off the cup and lifted it to her nose, realizing it was hot apple cider and not tea she smiled taking in the sweet yet spicy scent. Sitting it down to cool she picked up the pastry, a mixed berry galette, smiling she took a huge bite of the piece and sighing in content after she swallowed.

"So, Kitten, shall we see if the removal of the memory blocks worked? Also, I know you wanted to look for a new bed set and I was talking to this bird down at the shop when I got breakfast and she said there's a little carpentry shop on the reservation that handmakes all their stuff, I was thinking, if you wanted we could get you some cheap little set and put in an order for a handmade set from them if you like their work." Sirius put a little brochure on the table for her to look at, "I glanced through it and some of the stuff in there is amazing, the details they carve into the wood. I'm thinking about ordering something for myself too."

She picked up the brochure that read 'Uley and Pack Woodworking' on the front with a wolf head howling behind it. She grinned at that and flipped it open to take a look at some of the work, letting out a low whistle at one of the hand carved tables she saw, it was gorgeous. She finished flipping through the pamphlet and sat it back on the counter before finishing her pastry and taking a sip of her apple cider.

"I think I would like to go view some of their stuff in person, maybe order something, when were you wanting to go?" She glanced over at Remus who was cleaning Teddy up and he shrugged.

"I don't have anything to do today, we could swing by your uncle's and see if they're home before we head to the reservation if you wanted. If you're ready to face them that is, how are you going to explain your looks?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

She took another drink before answering, "Oh, that's easy, I'm going to tell them about magic of course." she said it so nonchalantly that Sirius choked on his pastry, coughing a few times to dislodge it which made Teddy laugh at him.

"You sure you want to tell them about magic Kitten? What happens if they shun you or worse?"

Hermione just shrugged, "Then I'll obliviate them, I just want the chance to have my family back, not that you guys aren't enough!" she added quickly not wanting to hurt their feelings.

They both laughed, "Mina-bird we know we are your family you don't have to try and explain why you would want them too, if either of us had family that was still alive but they had no memory of us we'd be doing the same thing." Remus stood picking Teddy up off the counter and kissed Hermione on the head. "I'm going to go get dressed and get Teddy dressed as well, we will meet you both back down here in about an hour?" when the two of them nodded he headed up the stairs.

"I should probably go get ready as well Papa, I need to shower before we go." He was too busy shoveling the rest of Remus's pastry in his mouth to answer so he just gave her a grunt and waved her off.

She shook her head at his antics and wandered back upstairs, once in her room she pulled her hair out of the braid and grabbed her wand from under her pillow. She walked into the bathroom and found her robe hanging on the hook by the shower door and a towel on the hook next to it. She stripped out of her pj's and banished them to the dirty clothes basket before using her wand to start the shower and heat it to the perfect temperature. She laid her wand on the top shelf of the built-in shelves in the shower before starting the process of washing her hair. Once she got it rinsed out and added the conditioner, she wrapped her hair up on top of her head to let the conditioner soak in and secured it with her wand. She followed by doing a wandless hair removal spell and then washed off with her favorite shower gel which smelled like fresh picked apples.

Once that was done, she took her hair down and proceeded to rinse out the conditioner, she then shut the water off and grabbed the towel and wrapped her hair up. Using her wand to dry herself off she wandered into the closet in search of what to wear. Deciding on a pair of grey skinny jeans and a dark grey sweater that was open in the back up to just under where a bra would normally sit, she found a pair of purple knickers and slid them on before pulling the jeans on and sliding the shirt over her head. Once it was on, she pointed her wand at herself and used a nifty little charm she had learned from Andromeda that was made for witches who didn't want to or couldn't wear a bra with their outfits, it would keep the breasts up and in place.

She smiled when she was done and walked into the bathroom again, she rummaged through the makeup bag she had sitting on the counter, she filled in her eyebrows lightly, applied a line of black eyeliner from the middle of her eyelid to the outer corner, drawing it out into a cat eye and smudged it out then she applied a shimmery nude shadow across her eyelid and a bit of black eyeliner on the waterline from the outer corner to the middle and finished with a bit of white eyeliner on the waterline from the inner corner to meet the black. She curled her lashes and put on a couple coats of black mascara and finished the look with her frog prince lipstick, it was green but when it was finished being put on it made her lips the perfect shade of pink. She placed the finishing spell on her makeup to hold it in place for the day.

Pulling her hair out of the towel she had it in she put two drops of sleekeazy in her hand along with a bit of muggle mousse and the combed her fingers through her curls and then scrunching them a bit letting them fill up and get big and perfectly poufy while still looking sleek and smooth. Once her hair was how she wanted it, she used her wand to finish drying it and then she pulled it up into a high ponytail so that the open back of her shirt could be seen. She spritzed herself with the first perfume she grabbed, once on her wrist that she rubbed with the other and on her neck behind her ear. She wandered back into the closet and found her short folded over combat boots and a pair of socks and pulled them both on before pulling her leather jacket with a sweatshirt type hood and sleeve cuffs out of the closet and slipping it on, she summoned her earrings from their bag and placed all of them back in.

Satisfied she was ready to go she put her wand in her pocket, all of the pockets she had in every pair of pants was magically enlarged so she could place her wand in it without anyone noticing. She began to leave the closet before stopping and digging in a drawer of her dresser, pulling out a small grey backpack and checking to make sure her copies of all her ID's and credit cards along with enough muggle money to buy anything her heart desired were still in there, she had copies of everything in every purse she owned, if anyone but her, Moony or Sirius opened the purse they'd find a wallet with a couple bucks in it and a muggle ID. She threw the bag over her shoulder and headed out the door.

She poked her head into Sirius's room and not seeing anyone she did the same with Remus's room, sighing she realized she must have been the last to get dressed. How Remus managed to get himself and Teddy dressed before she got showered and dressed, she'll never know. She huffed as she headed down the stairs and sure enough, they were all standing there waiting for her.

"How do you manage that Remus?" She glanced between him and Teddy making her point.

He grinned and wiggled his fingers, "Magic Mina-bird"

This caused her to huff out a laugh and roll her eyes. Then she gave them all a once over noting how different they looked in their casual clothes. Remus had on a maroon t-shirt with a black jacket pulled on over it, dark blue jeans and a black belt with black leather shoes, his hair was combed up and looked very nice. Sirius's hair on the other hand, was down and messy around his shoulders, he was wearing a black well-worn t-shirt with his beaten-up leather jacket over it, a pair of black straight leg jeans and a pair of worn leather boots. He shot her a crooked grin when she rolled her eyes at his outfit choice. Glancing at Teddy she smiled, he was dressed in a pair of distressed jeans, a white t-shirt with a red and black plaid button up open and over it, a pair of black and white slip on vans completed the look. His hair was black and styled in a little faux hawk, obviously Sirius's doing.

"Are we all ready?" She asked them, they nodded and Remus handed her the keys to the rental.

"You know we are going to need to go car shopping soon, now that we have a house, I'm sure Sirius here is going to want to bring his bike over, I'll need something to haul Teddy all over and you Mina are going to need your own vehicle," Remus stated as he started for the front door, Teddy riding on his shoulders. She watched as he ducked out the door and left it open behind him.

The other two adults followed suit, Hermione being the last out shutting the door and warding it behind her.

"We are going to need to set boundry wards and ward the house permanently so we don't have to continuously do it when we leave. Have you noticed your magic feeling stronger when we are at home? I want to test the floor in the basement, I feel like we may be close to if not right on a natural magic ley line. Thinking about it, that would help explain why the boys turn into wolves you know, since they aren't magical in any other way."

Ahead of her Sirius nodded his agreement, they continue to the car in silence and climbed in, "So we will be stopping by Charlie's, it's still early enough I doubt they've left the house yet. Oh! Before we go! I wanted to show you both something, she pulled out her little bag and dug in it pulling out the copy of the memory and handing it to Sirius. "You know how to make a small personal screen to watch right?"

He nodded and uncorked the vial he waved his hand over it and watched as the memory played out in front of him, his face darkening in what she knew was the part with the younger vampire. Huffing he re-corked the vial and handed it to Remus. She started the car and started down the drive towards the main road. She heard Moony growl behind her and the sound of vial being re-corked again.

"I must say I'm impressed with both of their control but what was the younger one doing in the room while she was getting stitched anyway?" She could tell it was Moony talking and not Remus by the rumble in his voice. Mentally counting the days, she cursed in her mind, the full moon was only 3 nights away. They had a lot of work to do if they wanted to get the full 4 acres warded to roam during the change. They would also need to get ahold of either Harry or Andromeda to come and get Teddy for the night.

"I don't know, that was the full memory I got, it's like she picks and chooses what to remember, she also had a brick wall around her mind, like she was blocking me out, I think she's just naturally blocking her mind."

* * *

About that time, they pulled up in front of the little two-story, white house. Hermione gulped seeing the cruiser and rusty pickup still parked in front. She threw the vehicle in park and sat there staring at the door.

A hand grasped her, "It'll be okay kitten, you'll explain everything and we have a plan in place for it they don't accept it. You'll always have us."

She shot a small smile at Sirius before opening the door and climbing out. She waited for the rest of them to follow suit before walking to the front door. Taking a deep breath and feeling a bit more confident when she felt a hand on each of her shoulders she reached out and rang the bell. After what felt like an eternity, she heard someone walking towards the door, she held her breath as she watched the door pull open.

"Well, this is sure a surprise! Hello Hermione, Remus and Sirius. Hermione I should have told you earlier, I have a niece named Hermione, I don't know why it didn't pop into my mind when I met you all before. Can't say it's a very common name, now, what can I help you all with?"

Her uncle had been the one to open the door, her heart swelled with happiness when he mentioned that he now remembered he had a niece.

"Well, we were wondering if we could come in and have a chat, we have something very important we need to discuss with you and Bella. If that would be alright." Remus glanced down at her and back towards her uncle.

She bit her lip and watched Charlie ponder the request. "I don't see why that would be a problem, come on in."

She smiled and stepping into the house after Charlie stepped to the side to let them in. She made to head to the living room and froze, remembering she wasn't supposed to know her way around the house yet. So, she stood there and waited for Charlie to close the door behind her boys and came around them glancing at her with something akin to curiosity in his eyes, he led them to the living room, he took a seat in his normal recliner and gestured for them to sit wherever. Hermione took a seat in the middle of the couch pulling Teddy onto her lap and letting Sirius and Remus flank her.

Charlie leaned forward and clasped his hands under his chin, "Now, before I call down my daughter, I want you to tell me why you need to speak with us. I'd also like for you to tell me exactly how you knew where I lived, I understand Forks is a small town but I doubt you cruised around searching for my car."

All of them exchanged glances and Hermione decided to do it.

"Well, sir, do you remember how when I bumped into you at the diner, I called you Uncle Charlie?"

The man nodded and motioned for her to continue.

"You see, it wasn't a mistake, you are my uncle Charlie, I'm your sister Jean's daughter Hermione. My birth name is Hermione Jean Granger, I was born on September 19th I am currently 22 years old, I am 4 years older than Bella and her birthday is September 13th. She is 18 years old and is your daughter with Renee, Aunt Renee never liked my mother or me when I was younger." She sat back on the couch and stared at him while he processed the information she had just given him, knowing it was a shock but not even the tip of the iceberg.

"I don't know how you know all this information, but you are most definitely not me niece, you look nothing like her! My Hermione had huge brown hair and brown eyes like mine and Bella's!" Charlie's face was starting to turn colors with his anger.

"Uncle Charlie I promise! I can prove it too, but there's more to the story, may I continue? I'll give you all of the proof I have after the entirety of my story is told." She folded her hands in her lap and stared him down, finally he nodded and sat back in the chair, his eyes never leaving hers.

"I was sent to a school for the gifted, you were told that, but you were never told exactly what that meant. I was sent to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Scotland. I am a witch, the reason I don't look like I used to, is because I underwent a blood adoption after my parents were murdered my 4th year of school. There was a break in when my parents weren't supposed to be home and the intruders killed them. Sirius adopted me because the world I was living in wasn't safe for a muggleborn, that's a witch or wizard that was born to non-magical parents, Sirius was also the legal guardian of my best friend Harry, he is his godfather, Remus is Sirius's best friend and helped raise me and Harry when we were younger."

She took a breath and stared at him, maintaining eye contact trying to prove she was telling the truth. She watched as anger flitted over his face again. He took a deep breath in through his nose and let it out, waving at her to continue.

"When my parents were murdered, I had to give the names of my family to the ministry and they locked your memories of me away. To keep you safe, our world was at war and you would have been targets even being this far across the pond. I wanted to keep you safe so I told them, I'm not going to lie, I may have snuck into your house last night and unlocked the box containing your memories of me. That's why today you remembered you had a niece named Hermione and never thought of it before when you met me. I may have also unlocked Bella's that's what I wanted to talk to her about."

Charlie just stared at her, his eyes flickering from her to Sirius to Remus and down to Teddy and back to her. Finally, he opened his mouth, "I don't believe you, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, what proof do you have that you're my niece and that you're supposedly a witch?"

She smiled, happy that he was giving her a chance. She lifted her arm and showed him her bracelet.

"Watch what happens when I tug this charm." She pulled it three times and held the now loose charm in her open palm, watching as it resized itself. Once it was full size, she pulled it open and stuck her arm in, finding the box quickly as it was right where she put it after every single time she looked through it. She heard Charlie gasp when she pulled the huge box out, she put the bag back in her palm and let it shrink and magically snap back onto her bracelet.

She sat the box on the coffee table and opened it up, she first pulled out two picture albums, then she dug out a small necklace box and a couple more jewelry boxes. She would start with these, she opened the first album and turned it to the page she was looking for, the start of her baby pictures. She turned it around to face him and poked a finger at the picture.

"This is you holding me when I was four days old. You flew all the way to England to be there for my birth. You didn't even miss it since my mother was in labour with me for 42 hours. Renee was so mad at you for flying outside of the country without her permission but you told her since your parents were no longer alive that you would be there for my birth so some of my mother's family was there."

She reached over and flipped to another page, "This is you, Aunt Renee, and baby Bella. Bella was one year and six days old, this was my 5th birthday. The same birthday you gave me this." She picked up one of the jewelry boxes and snapped it open to show a silver bracelet with three stars engraved on either side of ring that had a plaque dangling from it, the plaque stated "Love you to the moon and back" on the other side it was engraved with, "To my little star".

"You always called Bella your moon and I was your little star. Bella has a matching bracelet but it's gold and has two crescent moons engraved on either side of the dangling plaque where my stars are, and on the plaque it says, "Reach for the stars" on one side and "I love you my moon" on the other."

His eyes widened when he saw that but he didn't say anything so she continued on. She flipped through the book and found her 8th birthday.

"This birthday you gave me a necklace, it was a silver locket with the same three stars engraved on the front and when I opened it there was a picture of you holding me when I was about two with my mom standing beside us laughing at you, the other side was a picture of Bella and I asleep and cuddling on the couch. Again, Bella had a matching gold one with a moon and single star engraved on the front, the picture of us was the same but the other was a picture from when she was about two being held by you and Aunt Renee. It was taken right before you and Aunt Renee split up."

She flinched bringing up that memory, she knew it had really hurt him when Renee left. Shaking her head, she flipped to one more page.

"This was my 11th birthday, I got my Hogwarts letter this day, you were outside dealing with the bbq with my dad when it came, you guys burnt the burgers so bad you had to convince my mom to let you go buy Chinese takeout instead. This time it was only you that came, like it had been from my 5th birthday on, you never missed a birthday until my 12th birthday because I was always at school over my birthday. The present you gave me this year was another piece of jewelry, but it was much more important to you and my mum. You had taken Grandma Swan's engagement ring and had the three diamonds taken out, you set the big middle one onto a necklace for my mum, the two smaller diamonds were set into a silver ring for me and a gold one for Bella."

She picked up the next box and handed it to him, it was the ring she was talking about. As he looked at that she picked up the next photo album.

"This is me from 4th year on. After the blood adoption my looks changed, taking on more of the Black family appearance. I do so hope this is enough proof that I'm who I say I am."

She handed held the book out to him and watched as he set the ring box back on the coffee table and grabbed the book, flipping through the photos watching as the moved, she had given him her magical copies, hoping it would help lessen the blow of proving magic was real. Twenty minutes of silence passed before he finally reached the end of that album. He sat it down on the coffee table and put his head in his hands.

"So, you're a witch? Not like a slight of hand, is this your card, magician, but real magic? Can you show me something?" He looked up at her and she could tell he was trying to wrap his head around this entire thing.

"Of course!" She pulled out her wand and pointed it towards him, "Avis" she whispered and watched as the little birds came out flittering and chirping, she made them circle his head and had one land on him before casting a finite and making them disappear. She decided to show him her patronus next, help him calm down. "Expecto Patronum" she focused and watched as her otter came bursting out of her wand, she shook her head with a grin, they all assumed when her animagus form was a wolf that her patronus would change, but it never did, it was still an otter. She watched as it swam in the air towards him, his face lit up in a smile and he let his hand run over the wisp.

"That's amazing." he breathed, "I'm guessing you want me to go wake Bella up so you can show her all of this right?"

When Hermione didn't answer he stood up, walking closer to her he put his hands on her shoulders and stared straight at her. He took in the tiny dark freckle next to her left eye, something that had been there since birth. A quiet sob threatened to come up and he pushed it back down before pulling her into a tight hug. "I've missed you, I may not have remembered you for the last few years but I always knew something was missing."

With that he let go and wandered up the stairs to go get Bella. Hermione sighed and tugged on the ends of her hair, Teddy looked up at her and grinned a toothy grin at her, making her smile in return. She leaned over toward Sirius, laying her head on his shoulder.

"This was even more stressful than I thought it would be, but at least Uncle Charlie is taking it well." she murmured to him, knowing Moony could hear her too.

Sirius nodded, "I am glad he's handling it well, I didn't want to have to stun him or obliviate him. Let's just hope Bella handles it as well as him, otherwise we will have to obliviate her and give your Uncle a choice whether he gets obliviated too."

Sighing as she heard the footsteps coming back down the stairs, she sat up straight.

"Bella, this is..." Charlie started to introduce them when Bella interrupted him.

"Hermione! How nice to see you again, hello Remus, Sirius." she nodded to the men and smiled and waved at Teddy who smiled and hid his face in Hermione's shoulder before moving to his dad's lap.

Hermione smiled at her, "It's good to see you again as well Bella, why don't you take a seat, I have something I'd like to discuss with you. I already spoke to your father about this."

Bella glanced at her dad before sitting in the wingback chair she favored by his recliner. "You know Hermione, how strange is it that I also have a cousin Hermione, she's from England as well. Is that a common name there?"

Hermione let out a breathy little laugh, "Well that brings us to my point Bella, it is not a common name there, we have the same name because we are the same person."

Hermione watched as Bella absorbed that tidbit of information, "Do you have any proof of this claim? You look nothing like I remember my cousin looking. I'm not calling you a liar but you can see why I have my doubts."

Hermione sat there slack jawed at the nonchalant way Bella accepted this. Snapping out of it she nodded her head and went through the same story she had told her uncle, adding in little details of games and memories only her and Bella would share. After another 20 minutes had passed, she sat back on the couch and looked at her cousin.

"Well, you certainly don't leave any room for doubt, do you?" Bella laughed at Hermione before getting up and launching herself at her older cousin. "I'm missed you so much, we've missed out on so much time together but I get it! I'm glad you protected us!"

Hermione felt tears well up and hugged her cousin back just as tight. She sighed when they finally broke apart a small smile on her face and a handkerchief was thrust under her nose by Sirius, another one being handed to Bella by Remus. She used the kerchief to dab the tears from her eyes watching as Bella copied her movements. She handed it back to Sirius and sat there with a smile on her face.

"Well, this went much better than we expected, now the only other thing, well, not the only thing but this is very important. You cannot tell anyone about our magic, it is against the law and if the government found out you would be obliviated and our wands would be snapped." Her face became serious at this, "The other thing I wanted to speak to you about involves your friends, Bella. You know, Jacob, Jared and that group of boys? Also, I want to know what you know about the Cullens."

She watched as Bella's face paled dramatically, "Well, obviously you already know about Jake and them." she cut her eyes to her father who didn't look surprised at all, "they're werewolves, at least, that's what they tell me." She heard Remus snort at that.

"Bella, they aren't werewolves per say, I've been calling them skin walkers, but I'm beginning to think they're more shapeshifters. That's the best description I could give of them, a true werewolf is sitting in this room with us actually. Remus here is a werewolf, turns every full moon. That's how I know they aren't werewolves. Now, onto what you know of the Cullens."

Bella looked at her dad, "did you know about the Quileute tribe? You don't seem surprised at all at this revelation."

Charlie shook his head, "You and I have both heard the lore surrounding the Quileute tribe, it's not that far-fetched, seeing as my niece is a witch, to believe that the stories are real. Plus, have you seen how much Jake has grown in the last few days? He's 18 and looks like he's 25!"

Bella nodded and looked back to Hermione, "You wanted to know what I know of the Cullens right?" Hermione nodded and waved for her to continue, "Well, the tribe has stories, the reason that they can change into their wolf forms is due to an encounter with the cold ones, otherwise known as vampires. I'm not 100% that they are the vampires in question but I know that Jake has an un-natural hate of the Cullens, and I know that the Cullens never set foot onto La Push grounds."

Hermione nodded in thought, "Well, I can tell you with the utmost certainty that the Cullens are vampires, they're actually part of the reason that I'm here, other than you guys of course. I've decided to study them, they're the only known vegetarian vampires in existence. They feed solely off animal blood, although, I believe their son Edward has taken a fancy to the smell of your blood Bella, based on the memory I saw of you getting that scratch stitched up, I have something that will help that heal with no scars if you'd like?"

Bella just gaped at her, "you saw that? I thought I saw his eyes change color but it all happened so quick I thought it was just a trick of the light or my mind being weird from blood loss."

Hermione just nodded at her, "I did see it, now, I need to head over to La Push and see if this carpentry shop is open, Uley and Pack? Have you heard of it?"

Bella snorted, "That's Sam Uley's shop, he's the leader of Jacob's pack, speaking of Jacob, what are you going to do with him? He met you with me, and you met Jared."

Hermione winced at that, "I don't actually know, I may have to modify both of their memories, I may just tell them about magic as well, depends on what Remus and Sirius think." She turned to glance at the men in question, both of who had thoughtful looks on their faces.

"Anyway, I feel as we should be going, oh, here is my cellular number", she conjured up a pen and wrote it on a spare bit of paper sitting on their coffee table, "and here is our address, we just bought a house here you see, so you don't have to worry about my leaving anytime soon."

Charlie stood up and walked over to Remus and Sirius, "I just wanted to thank you for taking care of Hermione when I wasn't in a position to help, you're her family which makes you our family as well, welcome to the Swan family." He clapped them both on the shoulder and gave them a smile.

With another tight hug to both Bella and Charlie, and promises of coming by soon to chat more and make up for lost time, she left the house with Sirius, Remus and Teddy following close behind. Once they got into the vehicle, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

"Kitten, that couldn't have gone any better if you ask me, now, about telling the wolves about what you are, I think maybe we should just modify their memories, it's not safe having that many people knowing we are magical. What do you think Moony?"

Remus nodded in agreement, "we can change the memories and it won't affect how they look at you or remember you, they'll just have a memory of you being introduced as Bella's cousin from England instead of some random new person, I think that is the best idea."

With that Hermione started the vehicle and took off towards La Push, hoping this encounter would go just as easily as the one with her family.


	12. The Departure

**Here ya go another chapter, as always characters and whatnot belong to the original authors.**

 **Much love to my beta Starkiss666**

 **Hope you all enjoy and like always constructive criticism is welcome!**

* * *

The drive to the reservation took about twenty minutes, finding the woodshop took them about 15, the shop being on the very edge of the res, finally they pulled up in front of this small shop which looked as though it used to be a mechanics garage. The sign above the door read Uley and Pack so they knew they were in the right place, Sirius and Hermione climbed out of the vehicle and wandered to the door, Remus stayed behind to gather Teddy. Once the door opened, they were met by a very attractive woman, she looked to be in her mid-twenties, she stood at around 5 foot 11 inches, towering over Hermione. She was wearing skin tight light blue jeans and a white tank top, she had the same tattoo on her arm that Jared had, but her pretty face was marred by a scowl that lightened when she made eye contact with Hermione.

"Welcome to the Uley and Pack shop, unfortunately Sam is out at the moment but I'm Leah Clearwater, what can I help you with?" She turned and wandered back into the shop motioning for them to follow.

"Well, we just moved to Forks and I happen to have made a little mishap with my bed after catching my fiancé in it with another man, so I'm looking to replace the set I had with something new, a king size bedframe with matching side tables. My father here was at the shop in town and they had one of your brochures and when I looked through it, I fell in love with some of the designs, I was hoping to maybe put in an order? Sirius, my father, was thinking of putting in an order too, I don't know if my uncle wants to but he'll be in with his son in a moment, gotta let the two-year-old blow off some steam from the car ride ya know?" She smiled gently at the older woman, she got a small smile in return when a gasp sounded from behind them.

"How did you get her to smile? She never smiles!" Hermione glanced behind her at the voice, a younger boy stood there with a grin on his face, she couldn't pinpoint his age, damn these shapeshifters and their growth spurts. The boy smiled openly at Hermione and Sirius, "I'm Seth! Leah is my big sister, though you wouldn't think she was older than me since I'm taller than her!" He laughed and walked over to his sister trying to get her into a headlock, when that didn't work, he wandered into a room pouting the entire way.

Leah rolled her eyes, "I'm sorry about him, I assure you we try to maintain a mature and professional workplace but sometimes having these boys around doesn't make it very easy." She jerked her thumb towards the room Seth had disappeared to, Hermione listened closely and heard the sounds of not just Seth but Jared and a few other boys.

Hermione just nodded, "Trust me, I understand, keeping my father and uncle in line is almost harder than the two-year-old!" Hermione heard them coming towards the door and she could tell Leah did too because her eyes focused on the door behind them. When the door opened Hermione turned around to introduce Remus to Leah when she heard a sharp intake of breath come from Leah. She spun around to face her and noticed the vacant look on her face.

"Leah? Are you okay?" Hermione waved her hand in front of the older girl's face. This seemed to snap her out of whatever trance she was in.

"Yes, yes, I um, I'm going to go get Jared or someone to finish helping you, I need, I just remembered I have a prior appointment, I'm so sorry." with that she bolted to the other room and summoned Jared from inside and with a glance behind her at Remus she took off out the back door. Hermione stood there dumbfounded until Remus came up behind her.

"Mina, who was that?" his voice took on that gravely undertone it had when Moony was at the surface.

"That was Leah Clearwater, one of Sam Uley's workers, apparently, we are going to deal with Jared now, I don't know what made her leave so quickly but something is wrong. Could you smell the distress on her?" Moony nodded, his nostrils flaring taking in the scent Leah left behind, a low growl slipped out causing Sirius to reach over and cuff him before he upset Teddy. His amber eyes shifted back closer to the green he normally had the amber not fully going away seeing how close to the moon it was.

"Sorry Pads, I don't know what came over me, the last time Moony did that was when he decided he wanted Tonks, but it wasn't nearly as strong as this time." Remus scratched the back of his neck, shaking his head he nuzzled Teddy making the boy giggle.

"Hermione! How good to see you! I was hoping we'd run into each other again!" Jared had come out of the office flanked by the boy Hermione saw with him in the woods a few days before that, Paul she thought, and another she'd never seen. "Paul, Embry this is Hermione, her father Sirius and I'm sorry I don't believe we've met." He looked towards Remus before reeling back at the tension rolling off the man.

"Jared! This is my uncle Remus and his son Teddy, we just came by to place an order for some stuff. I need a king size bedframe, preferably a four poster and two matching night stands; my father would like a dining table that can fit at least 10 people. Remus? Would you like anything." He was staring out the way Leah had left, snapping out of it when Hermione said his name.

"I'm sorry Mina what did you ask?" He looked over at her.

"I asked if you'd like to get anything made by them?" She was getting worried, Remus was not acting like himself and Moony was far too close to the surface to stay near the shifters much longer.

"Yes please, I'd like a set of dressers, one with six drawers and another one with six drawers in two rows of three please." His attention turned back toward the back door.

"Okay, Hermione, do you have a preference on carving style and wood?"

She shook her head, "carving is up to you guys but I'd prefer it be made from black walnut." Jared nodded and reached over to the desk next to them and made a note of everything, "Sirius? Remus? Do you have a preference?"

Sirius said no but agreed he liked how black walnut looked, and Remus didn't answer, prompting Sirius to ask for the same wood as theirs, stating he wouldn't care about carving style either.

"Okay well I can give you a rough estimate on how much it will cost, but the final amount is up to Sam as he and Jacob are the two who do most of the carving, the rest of us just put it all together" he huffed out a laugh and pulled out a calculator, "ok so the total for everything together will be around...wow...I mean, it'll be around $65,000...I'm sorry, I understand if you don't..."

Sirius interrupted him with a wave of his hand, "That's fine, Hermione, give him your number and have this Sam call us with the final total, also, my only other request is that if the wood itself isn't dark enough to please stain it darker, and to take as much time as is needed, we are not in any hurries." He shot Jared a smile and proceeded to drag Remus out of the shop. Jared stared after them trying to figure out why that Remus fellow made him so nervous.

Hermione sighed, "Sorry about that, I don't know what came over Remus, anyways, here is my cell number, please tell Sam to feel free to call with any questions he may have, the only night I will not be available is the night of the full moon, so in 3 days. Does Sam require a deposit on orders like this? If so, I can come back when he's here and pay it if he'd like, or I can pay it now." She smiled at him, pushing the piece of paper towards him which seemed to bring him back to the topic at hand.

"Oh! Yes, yes, he does like a deposit, ummm it's usually 10% of the final cost but like I said I don't know for sure if that's what he'll charge. So, if we just go by that it'll be around $6,500" He trailed off at the last part and watched as she pulled a wallet out of her backpack.

She opened the wallet and pulled out a chunk of cash, "I figured he would and I guessed how much it would cost so how about I leave a solid $7,000 and if Sam thinks I need to bring more back I will." She handed him the cash and watched as he wrote her out a receipt on some carbon paper.

He chuckled, "I'm sure the money will be more than enough, but I'll put your number in the file with it so if he decides he can call you."

Hermione smiled at him and started for the door, "Thanks so much Jared, I'll be seeing you!" she waved before disappearing outside

* * *

Jared stared after her as she walked out the door with a wave, he shook his head and placed the money she gave him in an envelope and took it into Sam's office and locked it in the safe. He headed for the staff lounge where Seth, Paul and Embry were.

"Seth, what the hell was up with Leah? You said she was fine out there talking to Hermione but when she came and got me it was like she had seen a ghost!"

Seth glanced up at Jared with part of a giant cookie hanging out of his mouth, Seth's mom had made a huge batch of chocolate chip cookies for the boys at the shop. Tearing off the chunk in his mouth and swallowing he replied.

"I don't know Jared, I was thinking we should go try to talk to her or at least find her and make sure everything is okay. I wanted to wait till you got back to ask because we didn't want to leave the shop unattended, you know how pissy Sam can get when we lock up shop to run."

Jared snorted at that, one time, just once, they had locked the shop up early because they were all itching to run for some reason, as it turned out that reason was there was a vampire on their territory that wasn't one of the Cullens, not that they come onto la push land anyway. The group of them had hunted down this rouge male vampire and killed him before returning to the shop and seeing a very pissed off alpha standing in front of the door.

"Well it's a good thing I came back when I did, seeing as you were thinking of shutting our shop up for the day." A deep voice rang out behind them making them all jump except Embry who was facing the door.

Jared spun around, "Sam! Hey! We weren't going to shut the shop down! We were just worried about Leah and wanted to go find her, also, this group of people came in and got a HUGE order for you, I estimated it at around $65,000. Hermione left a $7,000 deposit, in cash, for you. I put it in the safe along with her number and our copy of the receipt."

Sam's eyebrows rose, "Hermione? Is this the same Hermione you lot were talking about the other day? Also, what in the hell did she order that costs that much?"

Jared nodded, "Yea! Her and her dad and uncle came in and placed an order, Hermione ordered a king size four poster bed with two matching night stands, her dad ordered a table big enough to fit 10, and her uncle ordered two dressers. Although, something was off about her uncle when he was here, he made me feel weird, almost scared. What in the world could cause us to feel scared?"

The last part of his sentence was mumbled more to himself than the rest of the room but they all heard him. Sam stood there, thinking about what Jared just told him.

"Go on and try and find Leah, what did you say was wrong with her now?"

Seth looked up, "she had no color to her face when she came back here and got Jared to take over getting the order from Hermione. I don't know, she looked like she'd seen a ghost but when I went out there, she was smiling and chatting with Hermione just fine. I don't know what could've spooked her so bad to make her leave in the middle of dealing with a client."

Sam didn't think his eyebrows could raise any higher on his face, "She was smiling and chatting with her? You're sure?" he hadn't seen Leah smile properly since he had broken up with her when he first phased. He had done it to protect her but also because when he looked at her, he didn't imprint on her, he didn't want her staying in a relationship with him only to get hurt if he imprinted on someone else, as rare as imprinting was, he couldn't take the chance.

"Uh huh, and it was a real smile, not one of the customer smiles. Sam you should really meet this Hermione chick, she makes all of us feel funny, safe, content. At first, we thought maybe she was someone's imprint but now we aren't sure, seeing how she has made every one of us who meets her smile and feel calm. Jared had told me about her after he met her at the store and I know I felt a small feeling of it while I was teasing Leah." Seth finished off his cookie and dusted his hands on his pants.

"I'm going to go find my sister, hopefully she's changed and I can just find her that way, she's a lot more difficult to find when she's human."

With that, Seth walked through the door and disappeared, Paul and Embry followed not too long after. Sam turned to look at Jared.

"You're not going with them?"

Jared shook his head, "Nah, I figured I'd go over the order with you in detail, then I'm due up to go see Kim, she gets ungrounded today and it's been killing me having to stay away from her for the last two weeks."

Sam snorted at him, Jared and Kim had gotten caught making out in her room by her father, making him ban Jared from the house for two weeks to learn their lesson.

"Ok so tell me what you know about this Hermione girl and her family."

Sam sat down on the couch and grabbed one of the remaining cookies from the plate and listened intently to what Jared was telling him.

"She's amazing Sam, if I wasn't already imprinted on Kim, I'd probably have made a move on her. She's from England, she moved here with her father, uncle and her uncles two-year-old son. She seems to have a connection with the Swans, ya know Bella and her dad? She claims they just met but you can feel the anticipation and longing that comes off her when she's around them. I only got a glimpse of that, Jacob was the one who was there for it. Like we were saying before, something about her makes us all feel safe, like we are home. None of us can figure it out and none of us have imprinted on her so we know it's not that, but seriously Sam, I feel like if I was ever in trouble or hurt, it's her I'd want to see."

Jared leaned forward and took the last cookie off the plate, shoving a chunk in his mouth.

"Her dad on the other hand, he terrifies me, not in the way that I don't think I could take him but something about him just rubs me wrong, and when I met Hermione at the store for the first time, he came looking for her and I swear I heard him growl. Not like a human annoyed growl but it sounded like a real growl that would've come from us. I know Hermione heard it too because when I looked up her head had snapped in his direction too. That's all I've noticed about those two besides the way they smell. Hermione has an underlying scent that kinda smells like us, like wolf, her dad on the other hand smells like a dog, I don't know how else to explain it. Her uncle is the worst, he legit made me recoil in fear of him. His eyes change color too, at least I think they do, when I first saw him today, they were a greenish color but right before he left, I swear they turned to something almost gold like the Cullens! He's definitely not a vampire but there is something not right about him and it makes all of my hair stand on end. The really weird thing is he smells like wolf too, but like a sick wolf."

Sam sat forward and looked at the younger wolf in front of him. "You're sure that's all you know about them?" When Jared nodded he sighed, "I'm going to talk to the elders about this, but first tell me exactly what they ordered and I'll do a count of how much it would cost for sure."

"Well Hermione asked for a four-poster king size bed frame, she would like it to be made from black walnut wood which I know doesn't grow around here so I added some to the total to account for having it shipped in. She says she doesn't care about the carving style but I've had some ideas about that, if that's okay?" Jared glanced at Sam and smiled when he nodded. "She would also like two matching side tables, her father would like a table that can seat at least 10 people, I just assumed he'd want chairs to match, so 10 chairs. He said he also didn't care about the carving style but he wanted black walnut and asked that if it's not dark enough to stain it darker. Her uncle just wants a couple chests of drawers, both with six drawers, one that has two columns of 3 and the other that is just six drawers high. Now I didn't get the measurements for the dressers or the shape of the table, I figured since you'd be doing the carving you could call her and ask. Her uncle was barely answering the questions I asked him and I felt uncomfortable, so that's part of the reason I left it up to you."

Sam sat there and pondered what Jared had told him. "Go grab me her number, I'll give her a call right now."

With that Jared was out of the chair and room within seconds, coming back with a piece of paper and a number written in a very flowy script. Sighing he shooed Jared out the door and told him to go find the rest of the pack, and let them know he'd catch up with them later. He pulled out his cell and dialed the number, grabbing a notebook and pen that was sat on the table.

* * *

Hermione walked out the door and to the car where Remus had buckled Teddy into his seat and was sitting next to him his nails digging into his thighs to keep himself from going back inside and looking for that woman. She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, knowing it wasn't Remus's fault that Moony was rearing his head right now. She walked over and threw open the driver's side door and climbed in.

"Remus? Are you okay?" She started the car and glanced at him through the rear-view mirror. "What happened in there? Moony was taking over I understand that but why? What was it about Leah that made him come to the surface?"

She watched as he ran his hand over his face, "I think, I think Moony wants her...as a mate. He did the exact same thing with Tonks but this time it was almost uncontrollable, with Tonks I could hide his desire to have her but with this Leah girl, it was like my human mind was ripped away and I was all Moony."

Hermione pulled the car over to the side of the road and sat there staring at him with her mouth agape.

"You mean werewolves can have more than one mate?!" She was flabbergasted, Remus sighed.

"They can, it is rare, but it normally happens if there's a death of a mate and a young pup involved, the werewolf part of the brain will search for a suitable mother or father figure for the pup and thus they have a new mate. It's much more common in wolves living away from society, the ones like Fenrir who have lost most of their human mind to the wolf. Since Teddy was so young when Tonks died it doesn't really surprise me that Moony has been searching for a new one. Apparently, he's decided on that Leah girl...I don't know what I'm going to do Mina, she's young. Too young for someone like me that has a son from a previous marriage. Hell, she can't be much older than you!" Remus put his head in his hands.

Hermione sat there and contemplated everything he had just told her. She pulled the car back onto the road and drove towards the house, with this new information she knew they needed to get the perimeter wards up, Moony would be insane this moon, if Leah was his new mate, he would stop at nothing to get to her and make her his, even with the wolfsbane they'd imported from Draco's apothecary shop. The only saving grace is that Remus had such good control over his wolf side, but the little display of power at the shop had her worried.

"Kitten, I thought we were going to go get you a cheap bed set from Port Angeles? Why does it seem like we are heading back home?" Sirius glanced at her.

"I think we need to set up the perimeter wards now, that display from Moony worries me. He will stop at nothing to get to his mate, we all know this. We need the wards set up so he doesn't get out to get her, I hope you two are ready. We are going to be in for a long, long night with the full moon."

About that time her phone started ringing from her backpack, she glanced at Sirius as he pulled it out and looked at the screen.

"Here kitten, it's a local number." He handed it over to her and watched as she answered it putting it up to her ear, normally she wouldn't talk on the phone and drive without connecting it to the bluetooth adapter she had in there but she decided this one time wouldn't hurt.

"Hello?"

"Hi, this is Sam Uley from Uley and Pack Woodworking. I'm looking for Hermione?"

She pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at it, the deep voice on the other side of the phone causing her stomach to erupt in butterflies. She took a breath and place the phone back to her ear.

"Yes, this is she. How may I help you Mr. Uley?"

"I need to know the measurements for the dressers that were ordered and the table, would your father like it to be rounded or a square table? Also, for the side tables I was wondering if you wanted cubbies or drawers"

She looked at Sirius, "Mr. Uley would like to know if you'd prefer a rounded table or a square."

Sirius just waved her off, "Whatever you want kitten you know I don't actually care."

"Mr. Uley, I think a square table with rounded corners would be nice, I have just realized that we forgot to add chairs into our order. Do you think we could do that, I can bring more money for the deposit if need be? Also, for the bedside tables I'd like one drawer on each with a cubby underneath."

"There's no need for the extra money, your deposit is sufficient, besides Jerad assumed you needed chairs for the table so he added them into the final total, which seems to be about right to me. Now for the dressers?"

She glanced back at Remus whose eyes were closed and he seemed to be relaxed if not sleeping, his fists were no longer clenched but were resting lightly on his legs.

"The single column dresser needs to have drawers that are at least 90cm in width and 60cm in depth, the rest is up to you. The other dresser I would like it to be at least 170cm in width, the rest can be determined by you as to what looks best."

She could hear him taking notes on what she said.

"Was there anything else you needed Mr. Uley?"

"No ma'am I think we have it all, I do feel I should warn you that it might take upwards of over two months to get everything finished."

"That is perfectly acceptable Mr. Uley, you obviously have my number, so please, feel free to give me a call whenever you need."

"Thank you, I can do that, and please, call me Sam."

Hermione smiled, "Alright Sam, I look forward to hearing from you and seeing the finished product, your woodworking skills are amazing. Thank you for doing this for us and have a wonderful day."

"You too, thank you for your business." With that she hung the phone up and handed it back to Sirius who put it back in her backpack.

"Was everything okay Kitten? Did he need more money?"

She shook her head, "we had forgotten to order chairs in our haste to get Remus out of the shop and we never told him how big he wanted the dressers, I just guessed but I know Remus wouldn't care."

Sirius grunted in response and turned to look out the window as they drove back to the house. About 30 minutes later they pulled up the drive and parked. Remus opened his eyes and glanced at them.

"Do you need me to come with you to set up the wards? I think Teddy and I need a nap."

Hermione shook her head, "No, I do need a bit of your blood and probably some of Teddy's though."

Remus nodded his head and climbed out of the vehicle leaving a sleeping Teddy in his car seat for the time being. Hermione pulled her bag off her bracelet and dug out two vials and proceeded to label them with the proper names. Remus had pulled out his wand and when he saw she was finished he made a cut on his forearm and allowed the blood fill up the vial. He healed it and siphoned the last of the blood off his arm and into the vial and watched as she corked it and stowed it in her bag. Walking around the other side of the vehicle he pulled Teddy out of his car seat and repeated the gesture after numbing the area he was going to slice with a charm. After they had collected the blood samples she needed, she gave Remus her backpack but put her phone in her little beaded bag and her wand in her pocket.

"Alright Remus, you guys go ahead and go take your nap, Sirius and I will go and set up the boundry wards. Shouldn't take us more than an hour or so to get it done." With that she gave him a hug and kissed Teddy on the forehead making him snort in his sleep and bury his face further into his dad's shoulder.

"Okay, I'll see you both when you get back." With that Remus turned and headed up the stairs before disappearing inside.

Hermione turned to Sirius, "One perk of this house it's entire acreage is surrounded by a fence, meaning if we just go to some of the posts and do the wards, we can set up a perimeter that is on the fence line instead of having to bury the stones."

Sirius nodded and she watched as he shrunk down to his Padfoot form, he took off at a dead sprint for the far side of the land. She laughed before following suit in her wolf form and taking off after him. Her longer legs made her catch up with him faster than she thought she would, she wasn't much bigger than him, but seeing as he was huge for a dog, she was still bigger than the average wolf. She huffed out a barking laugh when he let his tongue roll out the side of his mouth before he pushed himself harder and took the lead.

Soon they found themselves at the furthest fence post that was the middle of their property. Hermione shifted back first and pulled out the vials, the two new ones adding to the small pile, she then pulled out a small trowel to dig with. She looked at all of the names making sure she had the right ones for the wards to allow people in. She'd do the wards blocking the others last. Sirius came up beside her and took the trowel, digging a few inches into the ground right in front of the post, stopping when he hit the cement that kept the posts up. Hermione had dug out her chisel and a small hammer for him to carve the runes into the post, he took them and set to work.

Minutes passed before he was finally done and let her take over. She opened the vials labeled with Harry's name, Teddy, Remus, Andromeda and Luna, she allowed a single drop of blood from each person to settle into the chisel marks before putting the stoppers back in and raising her wand to prick her finger. She let a drop fall and wandlessly healed the pinprick and let Sirius follow suit. With that she filled in the hole and they started the chant, Sirius watched as a bright purple sheen, interwoven with black tendrils, only visible to those who could see magic, started rising from the ground. It spread out following the fence line and spread up to start the dome. Once they finished, she stood up and dusted her hands off on her jeans.

"Let's head to the west side of the property, I want to keep the front entrance for last." She smiled at her dad and shifted into her other form taking off at breakneck speeds to beat him to the next post they were going to use. Once there they repeated the scene from before watching as the sheen from this post attached itself to the first one. Once they were finished the dome would not be visible to anyone but them. They headed for the next post and finished it quickly, finally it was time for the entrance.

She let Sirius dig and chisel while she readied the other vials of blood, the ones she had taken without permission before they had left England. They did the chant and watched as the dome closed itself off. Hermione sighed and uncorked the vials she had pulled out, tipping one and letting a dime sized amount fall onto her hands she rubbed the palms together letting it coat them. She stepped up to the boundary line and set her hands on the invisible wall. She started her chant and Sirius watched as black overtook the purple before pulsing a bright red as she said the name of the person they were keeping out, it finally settled back into the bright purple and black sheen it was before. She repeated this gesture with the second vial of blood after scourgifying her hands of the first.

"Kitten, where exactly did you learn that spell?" Sirius glanced at her, noticing the way her hair was starting to get damp from sweat on the nape of her neck. She would need a nap and some chocolate after this.

"I found the book in the Black library obviously, it's a simple blood ward, considered grey magic but then again the first one we set up was blood magic too. This one is just a bit darker grey, it will keep those whose blood I placed in the wards out, and if they repeatedly try to break them the punishment gets worse. It starts with simply flinging them off the property before moving to shocking the person, finally if they continue trying to break them, they will die but that's a last resort." She sat down on the grass and scourgified her hands before laying back and taking a breather.

"At some point I'd like Remus to come out and add his magic to the wards, all he'd have to do is touch the post we chose while he did the chant. It will make it stronger."

Sirius nodded before asking her, "Kitten, do you need help getting back into the house, that was a lot of magic you expelled, you look dead on your feet." He took in the bags that had developed under her eyes and the sheen of sweat on her brow. Without waiting for a response, he scooped her tiny frame up and wandered them back into the house, she had fallen asleep before he even made it to the stairs, he smiled down at her thinking of how many times he'd had to carry her and Harry back to their rooms when they fell asleep in front of the fire. Not wanting to have to configure the chair into a cot he just took her to his room and placed her on the bed, pulling one of his blankets up over her. She mumbled something and sighed before curling into a ball on her side and snoring lightly.

Sirius smiled before digging in his side table and pulling out a pen and a piece scrap parchment out, along with a chocolate bar he had knicked from Moony. Scribbling a note to her and then pulling out another scrap to leave one for Remus, he left hers on the bedside table with the chocolate and left the room shutting the door behind him. She was going to sleep for at least a few hours to replenish her magical core. He stuck the one for Remus on his door with a mild sticking charm and then wandered into Hermione's room and dug through her backpack pulling out the keys to the car and he left the house. He had talked to the shop keeper about more than just where to buy a bed, he had found out a little bookstore in Port Angeles, Thunderbird and Whale, that held a book he wanted to read on the Quileute tribe. He was going to make a flying trip down there to get the book and hopefully make it back before they woke.


	13. The Best Ones Lie

**Here we go! I hope everyone likes it, it's a bit shorter than the last few but I felt it was a good place to stop.**

 **I will say, there's only a few more day by day chapters that will happen before a few weeks time skips, hopefully you all aren't bored of it yet!**

 **Shoutout to my best friend and beta starkiss666**

 **As always constructive** **criticism** **is welcome**

 **Anything you recognize belongs to the** **respective** **authors!**

* * *

Leah had run over to the beach of La Push, she had always kept a change of clothes wrapped up in a black trash bag and hidden in a hole in a tree near the beach, she was sitting in her human form on a rock overlooking the water. Her knees were pulled up to her chest with her arms wrapped around them and her chin was resting in between her knees letting her stare out at the waves. Her mind was racing, she had been told that it was impossible for a woman to turn, she did that. She was told she'd probably never imprint because she was an oddity, well, that just happened and she couldn't believe it. She'd ran before she could even speak to him, when it had happened the breath was knocked out of her.

With a sigh she stretched out her legs in front of her before standing up on the rock. Her head swiveled towards the tree line behind her. She rolled her eyes when she saw the hulking figures of her brother along with Paul and Embry walking to the edge of the trees. She turned back to the water and wrapped her arms around her middle, she wasn't cold, her body temperature made sure of that, staying at around 109F.

"Leah! There you are! We've been looking all over for you! Why couldn't you have just stayed in your wolf form, it would've been a lot easier." Seth grumbled, "We came out here as a last resort."

Leah just snorted and stared at the water, "Why do you think I'm in my human form? I didn't want to be found and I sure as shit didn't want you all to know why I was so upset! Just leave me alone."

With that she hopped off the rock and wandered down the beach.

"Leeaaah, come on! I'm your brother! You should talk to me when you're upset! There's no reason not to tell me!"

Leah's eyes narrowed at the ground before she spun around to face her little brother, "I didn't want to tell you because it would've gotten back to everyone else! Sam included! It's no one else's business but mine! When I'm ready to tell you, I fucking will! Now leave me alone!" She lost control of her emotions and phased out of anger at that moment. With a snarl towards her brother and his friends she turned and bolted into the tree's intent on a run. She made sure to focus her mind on the run and nothing else, she didn't need everyone else knowing what happened just yet.

* * *

Remus's eyes blinked open and he stifled a groan when he felt his arm was asleep, glancing over he noticed a tuft of black hair poking out from under the covers and laying across his arm. He slowly pulled his arm out from under Teddy's head and then he tucked him back in. Casting a tempus, he realized he'd been asleep for a little over two hours. He heard something outside his door, the footsteps continued into Hermione's room and then down the stairs where he heard the door open and close followed by the sound of someone getting in the car and driving away.

He wandered out of the room and saw the parchment stuck to his door, he plucked it off and read it. 'Moony, ran to town, back in a couple hours, Kitten is sleeping in my room, drained her core pretty bad putting up wards. She wants you to add your magic to the wards, you know the drill, touch the post and do the chant. -Pads'

With a quiet snort he made sure to put a protective bubble around the bed so if Teddy woke up, he'd be alerted. Once he was satisfied, he wandered to Sirius's room and poked his head in and saw Hermione was passed out cold snoring lightly. He laughed quietly under his breath and closed the door. He walked back to his room and dug out a pair of trainers, tshirt and a pair of sweats, he quickly changed into them and checked on Teddy once more before walking out the door and shutting it behind him. He walked down the stairs and to the kitchen, deciding to go add his magic to the ward line. He would be alerted if Teddy woke up and he could apparate into the house within seconds. He grabbed his jacket that he had hung on a hook by the front door, threw it on and headed out.

While he didn't have an animagus form he did have superhuman strength and speed, he didn't use it often for fear someone would notice and being this close to the moon it was even stronger within him. He took off at a jog that would be considered a sprint for most humans, being a werewolf, he had a 6th sense for magic, so he could feel where the posts were, a general location anyway, so he headed for the spot furthest from the house.

He finally reached the spot and quickly found the right post, just as he was getting ready to place his hand on it, he heard a twig snapping in the woods behind the fence line. He looked closely his eyes being much better than the average humans he saw a figure lurking just outside the boundary, it was a beautiful light grey wolf. Female if he wasn't mistaken but she was huge, much bigger than the average wolf and bigger than Hermione though not by much. He stood there and stared at her as she walked a bit closer to the line, he knew she shouldn't be able to see him due to the wards but he couldn't help but feel she was staring right at him.

He let his hand fall onto the post still staring at the creature in front of him he started his chant watching as an emerald green started to swirl through the purple and black. Once the chant was through, he took his eyes off the wolf, his mind telling him not to and to go to her. His mind was reeling, the only reason his body would be trying to force him to go is if it was his mate, was Leah one of the shapeshifters? He shook his head and forced himself to sprint to the next post, far away from the wolf who was still watching him.

* * *

Leah ran as far as her legs could take her before she got worn out and needed a break. She had wandered close to the treaty line that separated Forks and La Push, there was a river that ran through that created the boundary on this land. She wandered down the bank and took a drink from the river before she heard something running just on the other side, her curiosity peaked and her body moved without her permission heading towards the fence line of the old house that sat out here, she hadn't realized someone had actually bought it. She stood just inside the tree line before her eyes widened when she realized it was the man from the shop, his figure was distorted though, like she was looking through frosted glass, she watched as he raised his hand to touch the fence post. She took a step forward to get a better look, only to step on a twig and make it snap loudly, she watched as his head swiveled towards her and she froze. Knowing he couldn't see her from her shadowed hiding spot she couldn't help the shiver that ran through her when his eyes landed on her, or at least it felt like they were looking right at her.

After what felt like forever, he let his hand touch the post and she watched his lips move and his figure became even blurrier. She cocked her head to the side trying to get a better look. Once his lips stopped moving, he averted his eyes and took off faster than any human could move, within seconds she couldn't see him anymore and she sat on her haunches and stared at the spot he used to be, her mind was reeling at what she had seen.

'Leah, get home now, we need to talk about what's going on'

A deep voice resonated through her mind making her snap out of her musings. A low whine escaped from her throat at the sound of the alpha command she couldn't ignore. With one last longing look to where her imprint had disappeared, she took off towards her house.

* * *

Sirius had cast a notice-me-not charm on the car before he pulled out of the driveway, which allowed him to go way over the speed limit without getting caught by the police. The drive that would normally take an hour and a half only took him 45 minutes. He screeched to a stop outside the bookstore once he found it, glancing around he made sure there were no muggles watching as he undid the charm and climbed out of the car. He checked his wallet to make sure his muggle debit card was there and sauntered into the store, as soon as he entered, he was greeted by a portly older woman sitting behind the checkout counter.

"Well hellooo there handsome" the woman tried to purr in a seductive voice, or what he assumed was supposed to be seductive.

With a tight smile he nodded to her, "Hello, I am looking for a specific book, do you think you could point me in the right direction? It's Quileute Legends".

The woman huffed when he didn't respond to her flirting and pointed a finger to the correct shelf and went back to playing on her phone. Thanking the woman, he wandered to the shelf and began browsing, quickly spotting the book he was looking for he grabbed it off the shelf and turned back to the desk. The woman rolled her eyes at him and rang him up.

"$21.98, do you want a bag?" She glared up at him as he swiped his card and entered the pin code.

"No thank you ma'am I'll just take the book, you have a lovely rest of your day." He responded as nicely as he could and wandered back outside and got in the car. Opening the book, he found the chapter he wanted, shape-shifters, warriors, their tribe had evolved to kill off vampires and save themselves. He shut the book, so shape-shifters, Hermione was right, there wasn't anything in the book about living so close to vampires and not killing them. Though, that could be because they don't kill humans for food, or sport, he thought cynically.

With a huff he tossed the book on the passenger seat and pulled out his phone, he never called anyone on it, it was mainly used for its GPS and games, he had to admit he was addicted to the game angry birds. He looked up the nearest furniture store and started that way, pulling up in front and parking. He ran his hand through his loose hair and climbed out of the car, he walked in and glanced around before walking towards the first bed set he saw. He looked around when he got there and spotted the perfect bed set for her, an ebony stained king size captains' bed with 6 drawers on each side, it had two matching side tables, he flagged down a salesman and asked to have it delivered to the house in Forks, when asked if he needed a mattress, he decided on an extra tall pillow-top.

He knew Hermione would have bought the cheapest set since it was just temporary but he wasted no expense when it came to his daughter, plus, they were going to add an extra room and they could put the set in there and just buy another mattress, it's not like he couldn't afford it. After he paid for the purchases he took off towards the car, casting another notice-me-not on the car he sped out of town, flying down the road towards Forks.

* * *

Hermione woke up about 5 hours later, she stretched and looked around finding a bar of chocolate laid out on the side table next to the bed. She smiled and reached over, ripping the packet open and breaking off a piece before popping it into her mouth and letting it melt. There was nothing in the world that could compare to Honeydukes chocolate, she would definitely have to have Harry bring her a ton of it and their strawberry sugar quills. She sat up and stretched again letting the healing magic of the chocolate spread through her body, she was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Come in!"

The door opened revealing Sirius standing there, "I wondered when you were finally going to wake up Kitten, it's about dinner time do you want to go to the diner again? We haven't stocked the kitchen yet," He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck and grinned at her.

She climbed out of bed and ran a hand through the rat's nest that was her hair, with a grimace she shrugged, "I don't mind going to the diner again, do you think Moony is in any state to go though?" She tugged the hair tie out of her hair and tried to comb through the curls with her fingers wincing when she caught a particularly tough knot.

"I think he'll be okay as long as there's food in front of him and Teddy within reach. We'll just go grab him a steak or two and then come home, the moon is just over 2 days away, we can keep him in the wards till the moon is over. One of us needs to call Harry and have him figure out how to come get Teddy, we can give him the coordinates to have him get a port key set up there. Also, I got you a present and it's in your room, is 20 minutes enough time for you to get ready and downstairs to go eat?" He cast a quick tempus and saw it was already 7pm.

Hermione nodded at him and padded towards her room, stopping with a gasp, she turned sharply to look at Sirius who was leaning in the doorway with his arms crossed and a smug look on his face. She smiled at him "you got me a bed set?"

He nodded, "I figured you could use it till your new one comes in and I know we had talked about adding a room on for if Harry or Andromeda visits along with a play room for Teddy, we'll get a pull-out couch for the spare room for now. Once your new bed set is here, we'll move the couch to the play room and we can move this into the spare room and just buy a new mattress to fit on this frame." he had pushed himself off the frame and wandered towards her.

"Thank you, papa! I really do love it, it's perfect for now but you really didn't need to spend the money, I was fine transfiguring something for now! I would've paid for it." she hugged him around the middle burying her head in his chest and breathing in his familiar comforting scent, she relaxed completely when his arms wrapped around her hugging her tiny frame to him.

"Of course, Kitten, I'd do anything for you. You don't need to pay for anything, I have enough to last us a lifetime or ten just let me spoil you." The rumbling from his talking made her smile and she pulled out of the hug and nodded before shooing him out of the room and wandering into the en suite to fix her hair. Five minutes later she found herself wandering down the stairs listening to the squealing laughter of Teddy coming from the living room, her eyes widened when she saw it, apparently, they had unpacked the rest of the furniture while she was out cold. A frown marred her face when she realized she should have been helping them instead of sleeping to restore her core.

Remus had looked up when she set foot on the ground floor with a tired smile that faded into a frown when he noticed the look on her face and watched as she eyeballed the room. "Don't even go there Mina-bird, you needed your rest to replenish your core. We are wizards this took all of 30 seconds to arrange."

Hermione didn't stop frowning, "but I should have been here to help you guys, at least watch Teddy while you did it!" She ended her sentence with a small stamp of her foot, something both men snorted at.

"Mina, I promise, we'd much rather you be healthy and asleep than down here draining your core even more. Besides, even if we had wanted to wake you up you were in a small coma, it wouldn't have worked at all." Remus shot her another smile when he noticed the fight drain from her.

"Oh fine, let's go get food then we can stop at the market on the way back, I want to stock the kitchen, I'm tired of going out to eat!" She threw her hands up and went to find her purse, a few minutes later they were in the car heading into town to get food. Along the way they decided they would call Harry when they got home from the shop, Sirius hadn't been able to bring his bike over and they were going to try and get Harry to fly it over instead of port keying. Then he could stay the night of the moon with Teddy and hang out with Sirius and Hermione while Remus slept the day after the moon.

Once at the diner they managed to get the same waitress who flirted with Remus much to his displeasure, and continued ignoring Sirius and his advances. Once they finished their food they packed up and headed to the shop, Hermione pulled out a scrap piece of parchment and a pen from her bag and quickly wrote out a list of food staples on one part of the parchment and tore it off to hand it to Sirius, she repeated this with a list of household essentials like toilet paper and handed that one to Remus, she finished by writing out a list of more specific foods for her to get. Once inside each adult grabbed a trolley and after Remus secured Teddy in the child seat, they each took off in a different direction in the shop.

Hermione had grabbed most of her list when she got the feeling she was being watched, she glanced around subtly before heading towards the darker corner of the store where they kept the alcohol, turning the corner she used a wandless non-verbal spell to make the trolley go a little further down the aisle by itself before stopping and she waited by the corner of the aisle. Her trick payed off when suddenly from around the corner came a face, she grabbed it by the ear and tugged the person into the aisle behind her, not letting go of the persons ear she spun and tugged the persons face down level with hers.

"Why the fuck are you following me around the shop." She ground out through clenched teeth, she could feel the person trying to tug their ear out of her grip but she was used to dealing with people much stronger than her and kept a firm pinch on it.

"I just wanted to see what was so special about you, why you're welcome at Bella and Charlie's, Bella was calling you her cousin today but she didn't introduce you as that when we met before. All my friends are infatuated with you, so I want to know who the hell you are." The person replied barely shoving down the whimper that was bubbling up from being held like a naughty puppy.

Hermione scowled and pinched the persons ear tighter making them yelp a bit at the pain, "Who I am is none of your concern, I am Bella's cousin, Charlie is my uncle, he's my late mothers' brother. Other than that, you don't need to know anything about me pup, unless I decide otherwise my life is none of your business, now get the hell out of here and stop stalking me."

She let go of their ear and glared up at them when they stood up, she put her hands on her hips and stared them down till they left with a huff. She smirked when she noticed them trying to rub the sting out of their ear as they walked down the aisle, they stopped and looked back at her once more, ice cold blue-green eyes crashed with sparkling dark chocolate, hers laced with anger and theirs laced with confusion and barely contained rage.

She watched as they broke eye contact first and ducked around the corner and out of sight, she used her advanced hearing to track their footsteps as they left the shop. She nearly jumped out of her skin when Remus walked up behind her.

"Mina-bird, everything okay? I could sense your anger clear across the shop. What happened?"

She shook her head, "Nothing is wrong Remus, just had a run in with one of the wolves who needed to be taken down a couple notches, nothing I couldn't handle, do you have everything from your list?"

He eyed her skeptically before nodding, he waited while she grabbed a few bottles of wine and a bottle of muggle whiskey for Sirius and him, then they wandered to the front of the shop and waited for Sirius to show up. Once he did, they paid for their purchases and headed for home.

* * *

Jacob stormed out of the store his hands fisted at his side to try and ebb off the transformation threatening to take over from his anger. He let out a shuddering breath and walked over to where he had parked his bike haphazardly when he saw that girl going into the store with her family.

He hopped on his bike starting it and tearing down the road, how dare that little bitch treat him like a naughty puppy, how the hell was she able to keep him pulled down to her height? She was fucking tiny, but he couldn't get his ear out of her grip. How had she known he was following her anyway, he made sure he was far enough away that she wouldn't notice.

Flying down the road towards the reservation he continued wondering about the tiny girl who smelled like a wolf. He let out a low growl. something was up with her and he was bound and determined to figure out what it was.

* * *

Leah had stood outside her house for a few minutes, she didn't want to phase and go back in, doing so meant she had to face Sam and tell him that she'd imprinted. Her lip curled back showing her dagger like teeth, it wasn't anyone's business but hers what happened, why should she have to tell everyone and have them all look at her like she's a freak, well, more of a freak than she already was for phasing. She huffed and walked around the house to where her bedroom window was, she glanced around before phasing and sliding her window open before pulling herself through.

She immediately got dressed in a pair of jean shorts and a purple tank top, she didn't bother with socks or shoes knowing Sam was already sitting in her living room. She let herself pace in front of her door before gathering up her courage and putting on her best resting bitch face, that mask was what got her through Sam breaking up with her and her phasing. If everyone thought she was a pissed off bitch they left her alone.

Taking a deep breath in, she threw open the door and stomped down the hall to the living room, she stopped in the doorway and crossed her arms over her chest. "An alpha order?! Seriously Sam? If you had just asked, I would've told you when I was ready!" He just raised his eyebrow at her and motioned to the comfy chair next to the one he was in. She huffed and let her arms drop to her sides as she flopped into the chair and stared at him.

"Well, what was that whole thing Leah? What was with you leaving the shop in the middle of helping a customer? What was that person doing that was making it hard to see them? Why were you so close to the treaty line?"

His rapid-fire questions made her brain hurt as she tried to figure out which one to answer first, "I don't know what he was doing to make it hard for me to see him, I couldn't understand what he was saying, the sound was muffled and it definitely wasn't in English. I left." she paused there trying to figure out if she really wanted to tell him.

After another deep breath and a reassuring grin from Sam she continued, "I left because...because I imprinted on that guy, the one that was there. I freaked out and left as soon as I could, the reason I was that close to the treaty line was because I felt drawn there and I just let my wolf guide me."

Sam didn't say anything, he just sat there slack jawed and staring at her. "Sam? What the hell man? You made me tell you this shit and then you don't say anything, snap out of it." to punctuate her point she smacked the back of his head to snap him out of it.

He shook his head, "You can't imprint, you're a girl."

Leah let out a deep growl, "You don't know that I can't because there hasn't been a female wolf in the history of our people! We know nothing about a female wolf besides what I've learned by being one! So, when I say I imprinted, I imprinted."

Sam sat there staring at Leah for a minute, "how do you know you've imprinted, what do you know about it?"

She shoved the heels of her palms into her eyes and sighed, "I've seen their thoughts, I know what it felt like to them. For me it was earth shattering okay, I just knew the minute I saw him that he was mine, I'd do anything for him...and that terrified me, I have been told since I phased that I'd never imprint, so the fact that when I looked at him and everything shifted...I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to tell you guys about it yet because I hadn't come to terms with it."

Sam put his head in his hands, "so who is he then? I couldn't get a clear look at his face, is he from around here?"

Leah sighed, "He's that Hermione chick's, you know the one Jared won't shut up about, it's her uncle."

Sam's head snapped up at that, "Her Uncle? How old is this man?"

Leah shrugged, "Hell if I know, what does it matter? It's not like I'm a baby myself. He's obviously older than me because Hermione has got to be around my age, maybe a bit younger."

Sam looked at her before standing up and wrapping her in a hug, something they hadn't done since he broke up with her, they always tried to keep a safe distance between each other but now that one of them had imprinted, there was no lingering feelings.

"I'm happy for you Leah, I am, I'm just worried, how do we know you actually imprinted, how do we know he's a safe choice?"

Leah's face contorted into an impressive snarl for being in her human form and she shoved Sam away from her.

"Obviously he's a safe choice if I imprinted on him, but it's not like I CHOSE to do it! You didn't question anyone else! What the hell Sam, do you just not want me to be happy? Or are you pissed I'm not panting after you anymore?"

She punctuated the end of her statement by poking her finger into his chest, hard enough to hurt both of them but she didn't care that it hurt her.

Sam grabbed her hand with a growl and tugged her towards him, "I'm worried as your Alpha, I haven't wanted you panting after me since we broke up Leah, you're my friend, despite our past I still care about you. I've heard what the boys think of this uncle, they say he smells of sick wolf, there's something not right about him and I'm worried about you becoming close to him and having something happen."

Leah felt her bottom lip tremble a bit so she bit it to keep from crying, she let her eyes slide down from his and she unconsciously moved her head to the side in a show of submission, "You don't get to care like that anymore Sam, you're my alpha yes, my friend, but you don't get to dictate who I love especially with an imprint, you know the magic chooses who's best for us." With that she turned and fled from the house, leaving a confused and slightly angry Sam standing in her living room.

The only thought running through her mind was that Sam would understand once he imprinted, if he imprinted.

* * *

Later that night after they had unloaded all the groceries Hermione wandered outside and stared up at the moon, she sighed, this month's moon was going to be a long one. They had called Harry on the way home and Sirius gave him the coordinates to the house and he'd gotten authorization from Kingsley to make a port key. He would be here the evening before and have dinner with them and then he'd hang out at the house and put up the wards to keep Moony from getting in.

She heard something prowling in the woods next to the river, with a glance back at the house she changed into her wolf form and trotted towards the sound. She stood there and watched as a beautiful grey wolf about the same size as her emerged from the tree line, the wolf looked around before coming closer to the fence and sniffing around. It let out a whine and curled up next to the post that had the runes carved into it.

Hermione stood there watching for a few more minutes before deciding the wolf wasn't an issue and she turned and headed back to the house, intent on getting a good nights sleep. She was going into town to hang out with Bella tomorrow and she was going to take Teddy with her, the boys were going to work on expanding the house and setting up the potions lab in the basement.

Once she got inside, she immediately went upstairs and took a quick shower, getting rid of her makeup and washing her hair, she dried it somewhat with a towel before plaiting it back and away from her face, the thick braid hanging down her back. She found a pair of navy-blue satin shorts and a matching tank top to sleep in. After changing and brushing her teeth she realized they never got around to buying bedding for her new bed, with a smile she pulled out the same blanket and pillow she'd used the night before. No need to worry now, she'd take Bella and go shopping, she'd wanted to go to Port Angeles and maybe car shop too so she just added the bedding to her mental list before falling into a deep restful sleep.


	14. The Plot Sickens

**_As always credit to characters you recognize go to the original authors_**

 ** _I do not own Harry Potter or Twilight_**

 ** _Authors Warning: There is a small section of this story that has some homophobic words and I just want everyone to know this doesn't reflect me or my beta starkiss666_**

 ** _Sorry for the wait between updates and the fact that this chapter is a bit shorter._**

 ** _Hope you all enjoy and as always constructive criticism is welcome_**

 ** _I know there was a guest review who said I put too many details in my stories and while that might be true to them, I enjoy having the details of everything in the stories I read so that's why I do it_**

* * *

Hermione was up bright and early the next morning, excited for her girls (and Teddy!) day out, she had it all planned, they'd start by getting breakfast in Port Angeles, followed by car shopping for her, and maybe some clothes shopping while they looked for new bedding. Bella had mentioned she wanted to find something for her dad's birthday which was coming up in the next month, she never really left Forks other than to go to the reservation, so this was the perfect opportunity to find something.

She dug out a purple loose-fitting tank top, a pair of no show socks and her black shorts that laced up the sides, she had put a permanent sticking charm on the ties making them unable to be untied, she learned her lesson the first time she wore them. The twins couldn't walk in the same room as her without flinching and covering their now reappeared bits for months after their little prank. She shook her head at the memory and pulled out her all black low top converse, she charmed the laces to match her tank top and headed into the bathroom to get ready.

She let her hair out of the plait it was in and ran her fingers through it to part the curls. Using her wand, she put two small, tight twists on each side of her head running back underneath the rest of her hair, she then pulled the front part of her hair up and did a light braid keeping her smaller "bangs" out of her face, letting the braid fall down the left side of her hair securing it with a silver bead that had Algiz, the Viking rune of protection, engraved on it. She then added three smaller braids on the right underside of her hair securing them with the same type of beads but one had Fehu, the rune for luck, one had Berkana, the rune for rebirth, and the last had Perth, the rune of fate.

She snorted at the last one, they had all been a gift from Luna, but this one was given separately right before they left the wedding. Luna knew Hermione was not a firm believer of fate, but she swore up and down Hermione would need this with her move. Shaking her head, she pointed her wand to her face and muttered a spell, when she opened her eyes, she saw it was perfect except for that one eyebrow, muttering under her breath she fixed it the muggle way, did the charm to keep it in place and quickly got dressed. Glancing at the makeup once more she smiled, she didn't have much in the way of eye makeup on besides a shimmery nude color and a smudgy cat eye with some mascara, her lips were a dark plum which set off the light eye makeup and made her perfectly white teeth stand out.

She tucked just the front of the tank top into her shorts before summoning her black studded backpack and making sure she had the appropriate cards and everything in it before summoning her cell phone and throwing it in as well. She ran downstairs to find Remus and Sirius standing around the island again, making a mental note to look for some barstools while they were shopping, she walked up and stood between them.

"Is Teddy ready?" She questioned distracting Sirius enough to steal the last of his donut off the paper towel he was using as a plate. "Also, papa, we have plenty of plates in the cupboards that I know you guys put away, feel free to use them." She winked at him and she shoved the donut into her mouth before he could object.

Remus just chuckled and shook his head at her, "he's ready, he's just hiding in hopes to scare you when you go to look for him." he nodded towards the pantry door where she could see little fingers wrapped around the edge and an eye peeking around the corner.

"Oh my, I need to get in the pantry to find something to eat! I'll just go do that!" she said loudly and over dramatically, listening to the quiet, well quiet for Teddy, giggles that were coming from the pantry,

As she got closer, he threw open the door and launched himself at her, "rawrrr! I'm gunna get you!"

She let herself fall to the ground, careful not to fall on him, "Oh no! The dragon has got me, help me papa!" she reached her hand towards Sirius who just gave her a very shark like grin before stalking his way over.

"I got her Teds, tickle her!" Teddy's face split into a huge grin before he started tickling her sides as Sirius held her down.

"Nooo!" she howled, laughing when he ran his tiny fingers over a particularly ticklish spot on her ribs, finally Sirius let go of her and she grabbed Teddy hugging his tiny body to her. "I've captured the tickle dragon!"

He pouted for a minute since his fun had stopped but when she let him go, he smiled and ran to Remus who picked him up and deposited him on the island top. Hermione took this as a chance to see what they had dressed him in. She almost laughed out loud realizing Sirius had to have been the one who dressed him, the boy was dressed in a black t-shirt that said 'I'm this many', with a picture of a hand throwing up the sign of the horns, a pair of dark jeans and his black velcro shoes, and his hair was done up in a mini faux-hawk, he was sporting black hair and grey eyes at the moment.

"Well I'm going to take him and get headed out, its already 7 and it'll take us about two hours to get to Port Angeles, Bella and I are going to get breakfast and do some shopping. Is there anything we need for the house?" She glanced at Remus as she said this noticing the bags under his eyes, "Remus? Would you rather I stay here and help Sirius? I can watch Teddy and help him while you take a nap if you want?"

Remus shook his head, "no Mina, take him and have a good day with Bella, it won't take Sirius and I very long to add on the three maybe four rooms we are gunna add, we discussed building a bathroom on the first floor since we won't have the one in the basement once we make it into a dueling area and potions room, we are going to expand the basement a bit to keep the laundry area though. Might take us 2 maybe 3 hours and then I know Sirius will make me go take a nap." He gave her a tired grin when Sirius nodded emphatically beside him.

"You're sure?" Sighing when he nodded again, she reached for Teddy, "Okay, well you know I'm just a call away okay? If you need me, I'll come right home. Come here Teddy bear, we are gunna go for a ride okay?" He clapped his hands and she told him to tell daddy and padfoot bye bye, which he responded by waving and sticking his tongue out at them which made her giggle.

A few minutes later they were pulling up in front of the Swan residence, she beeped the horn a few times and watched as Bella swung the door open and waved to her dad before sprinting to the car.

"Is this yours?" Bella asked with awe, "This is such a nice car! You know, Dr. Cullens son Edward drives one kinda like this, I've seen him driving it around town."

At the mention of the name Cullen Hermione's hands gripped the steering wheel so tight her knuckles were turning white, "No, this is just a rental actually, I was thinking we may even go car shopping today? I probably won't buy anything right now but it can't hurt to look!"

Bella was too distracted playing with all the buttons and knobs and trying to find a station she liked to notice Hermione's discomfort. She took this chance to take a good look at what her cousin was wearing, dark wash boot cut jeans that did absolutely nothing for her figure, a very un-form fitting dark green tank top that looked like it was three sizes too big showing off the bright red scars on her shoulder and a pair of ratty old sneakers. Hermione knew Bella wasn't much of a girly girl but she decided when they went shopping, she was going to get her into some better fitting clothes.

She pulled out her wand from her purse and pointed it at Bella, "I'm going to alter your top and jeans a bit okay?" With Bella's confused nod she went to town, making the tank top fitted showing off her slender frame, and she altered the jeans to more of a fit and flare boot cut that she knew would show off Bella's backside a bit more, Bella took after the women of their family, a slender willowy figure not unlike Lunas, Bella was a bit taller than the rest of the women in her family, at 5'9" but she wore the height well.

Hermione took after the women on her dad's side, short and curvy, it was further accentuated when she was adopted by Sirius. When she hit about 15 and started really developing, she hated her body, it took many months and help from Andromeda to make her realize that her body looking the way it did wasn't a bad thing and it wasn't her fault for attracting attention when she didn't want it. Andromeda had taught her an old, very old, Black family spell that most of the women in their family had used, it was applied to the caster and would cause a serious shock to anyone who grabbed her without her consent, and that had not so innocent intent behind the groping. Cormac McLaggen had been subject to the shock many times, to the point the spell had left scars on his hands, finally Harry had taken it upon himself, much to Hermione's dismay, to punch him right in the face the next time he approached her. While not the way she would've handled it, she was glad for the backup as it made other boys seem to want to stay away from the boy who lived's sister.

Once she was done with Bella's clothes she went on to her face, Bella wore no makeup and was beautiful without it so she just did a simple spell that filled in her eyebrows a bit, added some mascara, blush and a nice light pink lip tint. It really made her eyes pop and showed they were not just a dull brown, the were cinnamon in color and around the pupil was a ring the color of firewhiskey. When she was finished, she let Bella look in the mirror. "Hermione! How did you get the makeup to look so natural? I never wear makeup because every time I put it on I look like a china doll."

Hermione laughed and told her that she'd teach her how to do this look the muggle way one day. With that they were off, an hour or so later they were pulling up in front of a little bistro in Port Angeles. They parked and climbed out, Hermione reached into the back to grab Teddy when a wolf whistle sounded from the other side of the street. She ignored it and finished unbuckling Teddy and pulled him out, setting him on her hip while she shut the door. "Aye, baby, leave the kid in the car and come hang wit us." She heard someone holler from behind her, ignoring it yet again she walked to the other side of the car to go inside with Bella. "Yo bitch! I'm talkin to you, show some respect!" Hermione scowled and handed Teddy to Bella who took him willingly not liking the look on her cousin's face. "Oh, I see you're one of those dyke bitches, well why don't you come here and let me show you what a real man can do and we'll fix you huh?"

That was the last straw for Hermione, never one to back down from a challenge she spun around and stalked across the street to the group of guys standing there. "Which one of you catcalled me?" She smiled a flirty smile enticing him to admit it was him, when the guy stepped forward with a cocky smirk on his face she eyed him for a second before she leaned forward a bit, showing off a hint of her ample cleavage and waited for him to glance down before grabbing him by the man bun on the back of his head. The pain from how she had his hair held and the fact that she was almost a foot shorter than him brought him to his knees in front of her.

She leaned forward, her lips almost touching his ear as she whispered, "If you ever catcall me again, you won't have a tongue to speak with when I'm done with you." She moved her leg a bit so it was positioned between his, "and, I'm going to leave you with a little parting gift to remember this lesson." with that she none too gently kicked her leg forward and watched as he fell on his face, holding himself when she let go of his hair. She stood there staring down the rest of his group who just put their hands up in the air, with a sniff she turned and sauntered back across the road to a grinning Bella.

Bella sat Teddy down on the ground and he immediately grabbed Hermione's hand, "You're insane Hermione! What if they had ganged up on you!" Bella scolded her although the smile on her face told a different story.

Hermione shrugged and leaned towards her and whispered, "I'm a witch, I may not be legally allowed to do magic in front of muggles but I'd have figured something out I promise." She winked at her cousin which made Bella snort in laughter. The trio walked into the little bistro and got a table, Hermione then ordered a bowl of apple cinnamon oatmeal for Teddy with a glass of milk, while she ordered a Belgian waffle with peanut butter and strawberry jam and a side of bacon. Bella ordered some cheesecake stuffed french toast, topped with raspberry sauce and a side of sausage, both girls ordered orange juice with their meals. They chatted about things in general, Bella telling her about her time in Arizona with her mom, Hermione questioned Bella about her classes, learning quickly that Science was Bella's favorite class. She also remembered that Bella took ballet when she was younger and brought that up making Bella laugh and tell her how she had to quit because of how big of a klutz she was.

Their food came out and the topic soon turned to boys, Hermione told her about finding her ex fiancé in bed with a man, Bella thought that was hilarious. Bella told her about a boy she had been seeing back in Pheonix, she wasn't really sad about breaking up with him because she knew they weren't meant to last forever but it was a comfortable relationship. Hermione noticed the blush forming on her cousins' cheeks when she asked if she had met any boys since moving to Forks. She watched as Bella poked at her french toast and when she glanced up and saw Hermione watching her the blush darkened.

"Well, I mean, I have met some of the boys. Like Mike Newton is this loser who will be in my class this year. He's annoying, but he hangs around the diner during the day and he saw me with my dad and had to introduce himself, you should've seen dads face, thought he was gunna arrest him for some made up charge just to get him to shut up and go away." Bella laughed, so did Hermione because she could see uncle Charlie doing just that to keep a boy away from his daughter. "There's also Edward."

Hermione cocked her head to the side and let a look of concentration come onto her face, "Edward, you mentioned him before, right? The doctor's son?" She almost laughed out loud at how red Bella's face was getting.

"Yes, the doctor's son, Edward is going to be in my senior class as well. He's one of the, things, we discussed when we talked about Jake and them remember?" Hermione nodded, she just liked riling her cousin up, she also had a slight worry about her cousin getting too close to the vampires.

"Bella, the English professor, Mr. Halstrom, he's in the hospital with pancreatic cancer, you know how I'm here to study the behaviors of them, I am planning on applying for the substitute position if he's not better in a month or so. Would that bother you? Having me there as a teacher?"

Bella had stopped eating when Hermione said that, she got a look on her face that she couldn't quite decipher before shrugging, "I don't think it would be an issue for me, I know you wouldn't let our relationship get tarnished by being my teacher or let me use it to my advantage. Do you have all the credentials to be a teacher?"

Hermione nodded, "I do, well, I will. It's not like I don't know everything that will be taught this year and it'll give me the ultimate advantage to watch how they interact with people. Even though who I'm really interested in is Dr. Cullen, though, I heard you can tell me a bit about your experience with him." She leveled Bella with a glare that had her shifting in her seat. "When were you going to tell me that one of the boys hurt you?"

Bella sighed, "It was an accident, I accused them of trying to make Jake join a gang...I was obviously wrong but still. Dr. Cullen was great with stitching me up, I didn't even know what he was till Jake told me later that day."

Hermione sighed and nodded before taking another bite of her waffle, about that time the waitress stopped by and put the check on the table, which Hermione grabbed before Bella even had the chance to look at it, she placed her card inside and handed it back to the waitress.

"So I need some bedding, I figured we could go look at some clothes while we did that as well, maybe we will find something for uncle Charlie." Bella agreed and finished her food while Hermione cleaned up Teddy's face. Soon they were done the trio headed back to the car and once they were all in they headed towards a department store Bella's GPS lead them to.

"Okay Bella, where would you like to start? Bedding? Gift for Charlie?" she shot her cousin a smirk and continued, "Or an entire new wardrobe for you?"

Bella let out a shocked squeak, "what? No I don't need a whole new wardrobe! I have plenty of clothes! I love my clothes."

Hermione started laughing, "Okay, no full new wardrobe, but I will be buying you a few more essentials and we are going to get you some clothes that fit you a bit better, more like the clothes I have you in now, I can alter most everything you have to fit you better also, won't take me very long if you'd like." She gestured to the outfit Bella was wearing.

With an eye roll and a sigh Bella nodded, "Fine, but I get the final say in what you buy me! Nothing too, skimpy." She eyed Hermione's shorts with a raised eyebrow that caused her older cousin to grin.

"Between you and me Bella dear, these are spelled to not come untied, and they're not skimpy, everything is covered that needs to be covered" She replied with a laugh, finally parking the car and hopping out to unload Teddy. "Does this department store have cheap strollers you think? Just little ones, I forgot to bring Teddy's stroller with me and I don't think we want to haul a two-year-old around all day."

Bella waited on the other side of the car her Hermione to join her before answering, "Ya they have a children's department, I'm sure we can find something small in there! Want to go there first?"

Hermione nodded and placed Teddy on her hip before the trio headed inside, following the signs pointing them to the children's department. The quickly found a small single stroller and bought it before heading back out to the car so Hermione could magic it together. Once that was complete, they strapped a sleepy Teddy into it, casting a noise dampening bubble around the stroller, making sure nothing would disturb Teddy's small nap and headed for the houseware section.

A few minutes later Hermione was trying to decide between a couple colors of satin sheets, she glanced down at Teddy taking in his sleeping form with a small smile on her face, when suddenly a chill went through her casing her spine to stiffen and every hair on her stand on end. She spun around one hand on Teddy's stroller and the other in her pocket gripping her wand. Her eyes sought her cousin finding her unharmed but flirting with the same vampire Hermione had seen in her memories. She watched as Bella twirled a piece of her chocolate locks around her finger laughing at something the boy said, Hermione didn't miss the predatory look in his eyes as he watched Bella, she glared at the vampire when he lifted his golden eyes to meet hers. They were darkening by the second.

Hermione felt something probing at her mind, narrowing her eyes at him she secured her occlumency barriers, fighting the urge to smirk smugly when his eyes widened a fraction. She couldn't resist mouthing to him that she'd light his ass on fire if he so much as touched a hair on her cousin's head. She could tell if he wasn't already super pale, he would've been after that threat if the was he took a slight step away from Bella and his eyes widened a bit was any indication. She continued glaring him down as he bid Bella goodbye and wandered away but not before glancing back at Hermione as he did.

Hermione schooled her features and turned back to the sheets grabbing two sets of the navy colored satin sheets. She grabbed a cream-colored set of Egyptian cotton sheets that would fit the bed she was currently using so they had a spare set.

"Hermione! I just talked to Edward! He was here, did you see him? He's gorgeous, isn't he?" Bella gushed, "Do you really need three sets of sheets?" She raised a questioning brow to her cousin.

Hermione shook her head, "I didn't see him, I'm sorry Bella, you should have introduced us, maybe the next time. I was too distracted trying to decide between the navy and dark teal color."

Bella smiled at that, before grabbing the cart again and leading Hermione to the comforters. "Now, what color are you thinking? White? Black?"

Hermione leaned against Teddy's stroller and thought, "I think a nice light grey will be perfect with the navy color I chose."

Bella nodded her eyes darting around searching for something of that color. Her eyes lit up when she saw the perfect set, a simple plain dove grey duvet set. It came with two damask printed pillow shams, the design being just a slightly darker grey. She quickly drew Hermione's attention and pointed it out.

"Oh Bella it is perfect! I'll need a king size will you watch Teddy while I grab that down?"

Bella nodded and took control of the stroller, glancing around and spotting some solid decorative pillows with some pickups in the fabric and a fluffy dove grey body pillow. Turning to see if Hermione was watching she quickly grabbed two of the navy pillows and one of the body pillows throwing them in the cart before returning her attention to the stroller in front of her.

* * *

Hermione had finally given up trying to reach the set by herself, she doubted even Bella could reach it. She huffed and informed Bella she was going to find a worker to get it down for them, since she couldn't risk just summoning it and having a muggle see. Turning on her heel she wandered down the isle turning the corner only to smack right into something solid as a brick wall, she would have fallen right on her bum if freezing cold hands hadn't grabbed her upper arms holding her just above the floor. She steeled herself to look up, a small growl escaped her lips when she met the honey colored eyes of none other than Edward Cullen. His eyes widened comically when the growl slipped out, he almost let her fall before standing her up.

"Of fucking course it's you Cullen, are you stalking us?" Hermione crossed her arms under her chest, a scowl on her face as she started tapping her foot staring the vampire in front of her down.

Edward held his hands up in surrender, "I'm not stalking you, well, not really. I'm curious about you and I feel a very strong pull towards your cousin. I can't help myself but be near her."

Hermione glanced around not seeing anyone near them she grabbed his arm with her bare hand, "Listen to me and listen carefully vampire, I don't give a shit if you're a 'vegetarian' or not, if you or any of your coven."

"family" Edward interrupted before snapping his mouth shut at the feeling of heat running up his arm, radiating from her hand he looked there then back at her face and kept his mouth shut at her glare.

"If you or any of your 'family' lay one finger on my cousin that isn't by her choice I will wipe your entire family off the face of this earth. Do you understand me." She let a bit more heat radiate from the palm of her hand into his arm, not enough to burn him but enough to be painful.

Edward was torn between being amazing by this tiny human, and she was human even if her scent was a bit off, and being pissed that she thought he would hurt Bella. He wanted to pry her hand off him because whatever she was doing was painful to him but he didn't want to hurt her. A small sigh left his lips when she finally released him.

"I asked you vampire, do, you, understand, me?"


	15. Call Me

**_Here you are the next chapter!_**

 ** _Beta love to Starkiss666_**

 ** _Any characters you recognize belong to their respective authors_**

 _ **Constructive** **criticism** **always welcome**_

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 _ **As always please be patient with the uploads as they will be sporadic as I'm writing this as I go**_

 _ **Also, Kae is pronounced K-EYE**_

* * *

A vase crashed to the floor, the crystal shattering and spreading in all directions, a vacant look took over the face of the girl who had been holding it, her eyes flashing brightly. The noise around her stopped as everyone in the house stilled to look at her, a pair of warm hands suddenly cupped her face and a voice spoke hushed comforts in her ear as she blinked quickly trying to refocus her eyes to the world surrounding her and not the one she just saw.

"What was it Alice?" Jasper murmured as he placed a calming kiss on the top of her head, his thumbs rubbing circles on her cheeks.

"Someone told Edward they knew we were vampires and threatened to kills us if we touched Bella." Alice shook his hands off and ran a hand through her short dark hair. She had a vision months ago before any of them ever even met Bella about her joining their family, she hasn't had one of the girl becoming a vampire, but Alice knew she was important to them, or she would be.

"What do you mean someone? Someone we've never met and you don't recognize?" Emmett piped up from his spot on the couch where he had been playing video games, Rosalie cuddled into his side.

"No, I couldn't see the person, I couldn't see them at all. All I could see was Edward, I heard the person speak but it was muddled, I couldn't even tell if it was male or female." Alice let out a frustrated groan.

"You mean we will have to move? I like it here! Why the hell did Edward out us to someone?" Rosalie snapped standing up from the couch and stalking towards her sister.

"I don't think he told anyone Rose, I think this person already knew what we were and when they saw how much Edward was focused on Bella, they took matters into their own hands. Carlisle..." Alice turned to their father figure.

"Already calling him Alice, his phone went to voicemail. Where did he say he was going today?"

Esme had gone and gotten a broom and dustpan and was in the process of cleaning up the broken crystal, "Port Angeles, but he didn't say why." Esme stood up and took the crystal pieces to the trash quickly disposing of them.

Carlisle sighed, "I guess we wait until he gets home, no need to work ourselves into a frenzy when it might be a simple miscommunication." He wrapped his arm around Esme and placed a kiss to his mate's temple. Looking at Alice he continued, "Tell me more about what you saw, maybe we can figure out who knows even if you didn't see them, also, was it like you couldn't see them because they were hidden or was it more like he was talking to thin air?"

Alice thought back to the vision, "It was like he was talking to thin air, I could see a shimmer of where the person should have been standing but other than that I couldn't see anything besides Edward and the store they were in, somewhere that sells bedding, not much to go on."

Carlisle nodded knowingly, "It sounds like he was speaking to someone with a shield, I've met one vampire who had that ability, he could not be seen in visions and couldn't be touched by any mental powers. Like Jane for instance, her power is a mental one, it gives the illusion of pain but causes no lasting harm, just like her brother Alec. His powers seem to steal your senses but again it's just a mental illusion. I remember the day they tried to get him to join the Volturi, I was still with them at the time you see, they tried to get Chelsea to tie the man to them but her mental powers couldn't break his shield. They wound up disposing of him when he refused to join their guard."

Emmett had already gone back to his game while Rosalie stormed off to the garage to work on her car. Jasper had grabbed Alice's hand and pulled her into him, he was murmuring into her ear stating they'd go for a hunt after this.

"So now we wait, you two go hunt, I'll send someone to find you if Edward comes home before you. Relax, we'll figure everything out when he gets home." With that he tugged Esme up the stairs to his office, Alice shot Jasper a small smile and laughed a bit when Emmett freaked out after dying on his game, they headed for the front door and took off into the woods without a second thought.

* * *

Hermione was still staring down Edward, he finally nodded slowly and opened his mouth to say something when she interrupted him.

"I don't want you to think I hate vampires, I'm not prejudiced towards any creatures but I am very, very protective towards my friends and family and you and yours are threats to mine. I know Bella is your singer, I know everything there is to know about vampires thanks to the Volturi and the other vampires I've met in my time." A slightly haunted look passed over her eyes as she thought of the vampires Voldemort had recruited, it wasn't many, just a few nomads but it was enough. She had seen one draining Parvati Patil, she had frozen for just a moment before unleashing a whip of fire that grabbed the vampire by the ankle and yanked him off her roommate. She remembered his screams as his leg crumbled and he started to burn, his red eyes boring into hers, before she whipped him again separating his head from his body. She hadn't been quick enough to save Parvati but she had at least stopped that one from getting anyone else.

Shaking her head to stop the memories she focused back on the golden eyed vampire in front of her.

"I'm not going to hurt Bella, I am worried as to how you know of the Volturi and live to speak about it, they're not known for letting humans live after finding out about us, though you're not completely human are you? You smell of wet dog, not a lot but it's still there. What are you?" His voice was cold but not all together mean. His head cocked to the side as if trying to get a better read on her. She felt that prob in her mind again and glared up at him.

"Knock that off, you won't be getting in my mind unless I want you to and as of right now, I have no desire for you to be in there." She punctuated this by poking him in the chest and shocking him a bit, causing him to jump at the pain.

"Seriously? What are you? You're human, but not, you smell like a mutt but you're definitely not one of them. So, you know what I am, do I get to know what you are?" He reached out and tugged on one of her beads.

She growled lowly and smacked his hand away, he just laughed. "If you really wanted to hurt me, I'm sure you would have by now. I'll be seeing you around, don't worry I won't bother the two of you, you weren't even supposed to know I was here, I was just worried about Bella but since it seems you have no problem defending yourself, I'm sure you can protect her as well. I'll be seeing you both, Hermione."

He relished the way her eyes widened when he let her know that he knew her name, having heard Bella call her that before. With that he turned and walked away, intent on heading home and speaking with his family about this strange creature his singer was related to.

Hermione was frustrated, that was to say the least, but she just sighed and shook her hands before finding a worker to grab the bedding set. She was finally back with Bella and Teddy, the former making funny faced to keep the latter entertained, the toddler having woken from his small nap.

"There you are! I've been worried! What happened?"

Hermione sighed, "I had a run in with Edward is all, nothing major I'll tell you more about it when we aren't in public" She cut off as the worker handed her the bedding she requested and she went to through it into the cart only to stop when she saw the pillows in there. She turned and raised a questioning eyebrow to her cousin.

"Oh, they were perfect matches to the sheets you picked and the same grey as the bedding set, are they ok?" Bella chewed her bottom lip nervously, staring at her cousin.

"They're perfect, I love the body pillow! Thank you for grabbing them and thank you for minding the little monster while I was distracted. Okay, next department, clothes!"

Bella shuddered, she was really not looking forward to her cousin using her as a life size barbie. Hermione noticed the shiver and laughed before pushing Teddy's stroller towards the clothes section. On the way the toddler spied a stuffed wolf, black as night with bright blue shimmery eyes and he demanded to have it. He kept at it till Hermione gave in with a smile, the boy didn't ask for much when they went out usually so she'd give him this, besides, it bore and uncanny resemblance to one of her animagus forms.

Walking into the women's clothing section Hermione started grabbing anything that caught her eye off racks and shelves. She could hear Bella grumbling behind her, she quickly made her way to the lingerie section. Smiling when she heard her cousin gasp behind her, she turned to see Bella red faced and mouth open.

"You are not making me buy underwear, you're not seeing me buy underwear and you most certainly are not picking out my underwear!" Bella stamped her foot trying to get her blush under control, it didn't help that Hermione was laughing at her.

"Oh Bella, I am, you'll be fine, now we need to go find a worker to get you sized." She glanced around and spotted someone a few feet away, "Ma'am?" she got the lady's attention. When she came over and asked how she could help Hermione pointed at Bella. "She needs to be measured for a new bra and we need a fitting room for her to try some of these on please."

"Certainly, miss follow me." She gestured for Bella to follow and led her to the fitting rooms stopping to grab a measuring tape along the way. Hermione handed over the clothes to Bella and pulled Teddy out of his stroller, she reached into her bag and pulled out a fruit snack tearing it open and plucked one out of the packaged, ripping it in half before handing one piece to the toddler who happily stuck it in his mouth.

A few minutes passed and the lady came back out with a red-faced Bella trailing behind her, "32B" Bella mumbled to Hermione before heading back into the room.

"I want to see every outfit you have in there! I promise I won't buy all of them!" Hermione laughed before handing Teddy another chunk of a snack. Within the next hour Bella had tried on everything Hermione had plucked, she got 5 pairs of jeans, 12 tops, 2 miniskirts and a sweater dress. Once those were added to the cart Hermione drug her back to the lingerie section, there she picked up different cuts of bras, explaining to Bella the shirts they were made to go with, she wound up with 13 different lingerie sets in all different fabrics and colors. Hermione then grabbed her a set of black tights and a couple pairs of thigh highs and 2 garter belts.

"Can we PLEASE get out of here before you buy me the whole section? What am I ever going to use garter belts for? I'm 18 for crying out loud, I don't even have a boyfriend!" Bella whined to Hermione which only drew a chuckle from the older girl.

"Trust me please Bella, I'm not doing this just to torture you, but yes, we can be done here, do you want to go to shoes next?" When Bella nodded she let her lead the way. There Bella bought herself a new pair of converse and Hermione insisted on buying her a pair of combat boots, a pair of knee high black heeled boots, some brown knee-high riding boots and a pair of simple black pumps that she promised she'd charm to be comfy and keep her from tripping. Hermione had gotten herself a pair of black thigh high fold over boots and three pairs of converse high tops, she also got Teddy two pairs of black converse low tops, she was going to teach him how to tie his shoes soon.

Once done there Bella wanted to wander and see if they could find anything for Charlie's birthday. After wandering the store for a while and not finding anything for him they paid for their purchases and wandered back out to the car. Hermione glanced around before shrinking each bag as she placed them in the back of the vehicle. Then she had Bella take Teddy and did the same with his stroller before she strapped him into his rear facing car seat.

"Well, do you want to go onto Seattle and see if we can find something there for Charlie? Or maybe you know of another place here in town we may be able to get him something, is there anything he needs but can't afford that he wouldn't take offence to us buying him?" Hermione started the car and turned the music on for Teddy, she had popped in one of her dad's Queen albums turning on Teddy's favorite song, the show must go on. She smiled when she glanced in the rear-view mirror and saw his head bobbing.

"Well, I know they've been having to take Waylon's boat out when they want to go fishing because Charlie can't get the motor on his to work, he even had Jake come and look at it, he's very handy with mechanics, and he couldn't seem to get it working. He's too proud to admit defeat and just go purchase a new one." Bella started giggling as Teddy started bellowing the few words of the song he knew out.

"Would he take offence if I bought him one? From all of my family?" Hermione hadn't pulled out of the parking lot yet because she didn't want to focus on anything but the road once they were on it.

"Mmm, I don't think so, he loves you and he wouldn't take it as a hand out because he knows how your parents used to be if someone they loved needed something they didn't care they'd just buy it and hand it over, apparently that's bled into you too." Bella poked Hermione's side making her squirm.

"It's a little worse with me, my parents were well off, I never wanted for anything but the money I have now could last me 15 lifetimes, why not spend some on the people I love? Do you know of a store here in town that sells them? Also do you know what type of boat so they can tell us the best motor to go with it?"

Bella nodded and told her to start driving and she'd give her directions, after about 15 minutes of being lost, Bella swears it was Hermione's fault not hers, they finally pulled up in front of what looked like a nice sized sporting goods store. They parked and Hermione quickly got Teddy unloaded and perched on her hip, they wouldn't be in here long so there was no need to strap him into the stroller.

They entered the store and were immediately met by confused stares, finally one of the older gentlemen behind the counter came up to them.

"Hello, I'm Gary, what can I do for you young ladies?" His slight gravelly voice made Bella, who had been looking at some lures, jump and spin around a hand placed to her chest. The man gave a slight chuckle.

"I'm actually looking for a gift for my father's birthday, I know what he would like from here but my cousin." She motioned at Hermione who was dangling a hookless jelly worm lure in front of Teddy who was delighted to play with the 'worm'. "She is wanting to get him a new motor for his boat, it died months ago but he's too proud to admit that he can't fix it." She huffed out a laugh the man joining in.

"I know all about being too proud to admit defeat, do you ladies know what kind of boat he has?"

Bella nodded, "A 2000 Hawk Super 21"

The man let out a whistle, "That's a nice boat, I believe we can get the motor ordered for you, are you all from here?"

Hermione shook her head, "We are from Forks, so it's not too much of a drive, is there any way we could have it delivered? I have someone who will put it on."

The man nodded, "We can have it delivered, it's no extra cost, let me talk to the owner and figure out for sure if we need to order it or if we have it in stock, do you want to look around a bit while I speak with him?"

Hermione nodded and thanked the man, Bella had already set out in search of a couple rods and some lures for her dad. Finding everything she wanted she had Hermione help her bring it up to the register.

"Alright miss, your total is $476.82, will that be cash or credit?" Bella blanched at the total, she quickly did a mental calculation and realized she only had about $600 left in her account after the shoes. Hermione noticed her cousin go pale and quiet and quickly pulled out her card.

"Charge please." Bella looked at her and she shook her head, meaning she'll talk about it later.

"Ma'am, we don't have the motor you need in store so we will have to order it can we get an address to ship it to?"

Hermione prattled off the address to her house and the man typed it into the computer in front of him.

"Okay, says here it's scheduled for delivery in 3 days, is that soon enough?" Hermione nodded, Charlie's birthday was 5 days away, that gave them more than enough time to sneak the motor over and get it on the boat. Bella took the bags that held her purchases and they headed out to the car.

"Hermione, you didn't need to pay for the stuff, I could've done it!" Bella whined after they got into the car.

Hermione waved her off, "You can pay me back a bit at a time if you want, I saw your face when he said the total, I don't mind."

Bella chewed on her lip, a nervous habit her and her cousin shared, "Are you sure? I will pay you back, I'm thinking about getting a job before school starts anyway."

Hermione perked up, "where are you thinking?"

Bella stayed silent for a minute "Well, there's the diner dad likes, they're looking for a waitress but I'm a klutz so I don't know if that is a good idea for me, there's Mike Newton's parents' shop but I loathe that kid so I don't know if I want to work for his parents, his mom is bound and determined Mike and I are destined to be together because we made mud pies when we were younger."

She paused as Hermione pulled into a car dealership, "Then there's a tiny book store in Forks, it doesn't carry a lot of books but it's homey and I love books."

Hermione smiled, "Well I think you have the answer, I can be one of your references if you need, so can my Papa and Remus if you'd like?"

Bella nodded and they climbed out of the car, Hermione unloaded Teddy and grabbed his hand to let him walk with her into the dealership.

A man, not much older than Hermione, wandered up to them when they walked through the door, "Hello ladies, what can I help you with?"

"I'm in the market for a new car, I don't really know what I'm looking for exactly, I'm thinking a smaller SUV maybe? Something I can haul this little man around in with no problems, my only stipulations are I want black exterior and black leather interior, tinted windows and all-wheel drive."

The man blinked, "Okay miss I'm sure we can find something to suit your needs, but first can you please follow me over here and fill out some paperwork to run your credit."

Hermione glanced at Bella with an unspoken question, she silently accepted the toddler's hand and his bag that had some snacks and toys for him.

"Ma'am there's a sitting area just around the corner if you'd like to take him over there, we shouldn't be long, just a few pieces of paperwork then we can get started looking at some cars."

Bella glanced at Hermione to make sure she was okay with her taking Teddy, Hermione just nodded and waved them off. She waited till they were around the corner before following the man to a desk that had two plush leather arm chairs sat in front of it.

"Ok miss, I'm Kae, and you are?"

"Hermione Granger-Black, it's a pleasure Kae, now what all is needed to compete this credit check?"

She knew her credit was impeccable due to Gringotts creating her credit identity but this would be the first time testing it.

"Ms. Granger-Black, I'll need the latest pay stub as proof of income or a copy of your bank statement to prove you have at least 4 times as much in the bank as the car is worth, do you have one or the other? I'll also need you to fill out this paperwork that gives us permission to do a credit check on your social"

Hermione nodded she dug into her bag and pulled out a copy of her bank statement, she sat that on the table and pulled the paperwork toward her and gratefully accepted the pen he handed her.

Once she was finished, she handed everything over to him, "Please call me Hermione, Ms. Granger-black is such a mouthful I know."

He nodded, "Of course Hermione, are you new to town? I have family in the UK, they live in London, haven't seen them in years. I'll need a copy of your license if you'd please."

She handed it over and watched as he took a copy and made copies of all her paperwork.

"Looks like everything is in order your credit score is amazing for someone your age and obviously your bank statement is more than enough, shall we go grab your family and take a look at some SUV's? I'll have one of my coworkers pull a few models around."

He left his jacket on the back of his seat and lead her to the sitting area where Bella was watching Teddy build a wonky looking skyscraper out of wooden blocks. He beamed when Hermione rounded the corner and got up running over to her. She scooped him up and watched as Bella cleaned up the blocks throwing everything into his play bag. She stood up and walked beside Hermione who followed Kae outside, sitting there was 4 different SUV's all black and all very, very shiny according to Teddy. Before they left Hermione had Bella grab Teddy's car seat out of the rental to place it in each of the cars they were testing. This dealership was one of a group of dealerships owned by the same person, thus they had options from almost every brand of car available and if it wasn't there, they'd be able to have it brought down from Seattle.

The first one they looked at was a lightly used 2012 Chevy Equinox, black with black interior, it was nice but on the test drive Hermione didn't like how it drove. They took it back and tried out the next one, a 2012 Nissan rogue it rode well but it had high miles and trying to see Teddy in his car seat through his mirror and her rearview wasn't working well. So, it was out, she was determined to keep Teddy in a rear facing seat for as long as he could. The next one was a 2010 Ford Escape, Bella snorted when she saw it and commented on how boxy it looked, Hermione laughed and Teddy started repeating "boxy" after Bella said it. The last was a brand new, 2013 Mazda CX-5 which was just released earlier this year (2012), with only 95 miles on it. It had black exterior with black leather seats, Teddy's car seat and mirror fit perfect, and the ride was as smooth as anything else she'd ever ridden in. It had all the add-ons she could want, a backup camera, navigation, Bluetooth and parking sensors. It also had oversized all terrain wheels and a moonroof. In short it was exactly what she was looking for.

"I think I would like to purchase this car, but I need to go finalize the loan I've got through my bank, is there any way I can put a down payment on this car and come back in an hour or so?" She tugged on one of her braids while taking a good look at Kae, he had black hair and dark long eyelashes that really made his green eyes pop, he was pale, not as pale as her but close. His lips were pink and plump, he didn't have any freckles that she could see, his teeth were straight and white. He was gorgeous if she could say so.

"Let me go make sure that's okay with my sales manager but I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem, given your credit score and financial status. We do offer the option of buying here and paying here but I understand if you'd rather go through your personal bank, I'll be right back."

She watched as he walked away, noticing he had a nice backside, she snapped out of it when Bella hit her arm. She glanced at her cousin as she turned bright red.

"Hermione Jean, I know you were not just ogling that man's ass!"

Hermione didn't know if her face could turn any redder when suddenly Kae was back, "Hermione? Are you okay you look quite flushed! Let me get you some water."

He immediately went and got her a paper cup and some cool water, "My manager said it's fine if you leave the down payment and go to your bank. We will just fill out the paperwork and just finish it when you get back."

"Thank you Kae, it shouldn't take us long to get there and back." Hermione stood up desperate to get away from him, the not so subtle sniggers coming from her cousin were not helping her face to cool off. She grabbed Teddy and his bag and started off before Bella even noticed what was happening.

"O come on Hermione, you know I'm just teasing you, besides Kae is hot! Those eyes..." She trailed off sighing dreamily which made Hermione snort.

"He is very attractive but I'm not looking for a relationship right now, I have Teddy and my Papa and Remus to focus on, not to mention getting the paperwork set so I can teach at your school."

She finished loading Teddy into his seat before they both climbed in and took off, she went back to the shopping center they had been at before, parking just off to the side where an alley was.

Turning to Bella she asked, "I need to apparate to the branch of my bank that's located in Seattle, do you mind taking Teddy and wandering the store for a bit? I shouldn't be gone more than 30 minutes."

"Of course, I don't mind, do you mind if I take him to get an ice cream or something?" She turned and smiled at Teddy who grinned in return.

"Sure, he likes chocolate but please not too much, here" she dug her hand into her back and pulled out some bills, handing the wad of cash to Bella, "take this, I know it's way more than needed to get ice cream, but if you see something for Teddy or anyone else feel free to buy it."

Bella just stared at the cash in her hand before she snapped out of it nodding, she then climbed out and started unloading Teddy while Hermione resized his stroller.

"Ok, I will meet you here at the car in 30 minutes. Be safe, see you soon!" She gave Teddy a kiss on the forehead making the toddler frown and wipe it off before sticking his tongue out at Hermione making her laugh. She then wandered into the alley and walked behind a dumpster; the alley only opened from the end she came in from so there was no worry about anyone seeing her. She focused intently on the picture she had seen of the apparition point of Gringotts Seattle in a pamphlet she had been given at the London branch. With the destination in mind she spun on the spot and disappeared with a tiny pop being the only thing giving her away.

Seconds passed and she landed smoothly on the marble floor of the apparition room. She pulled her wand out and walked to the first open booth, "My name is Hermione Granger-Black and I need to speak with someone about forging a loan paperwork to buy a muggle car."

The goblin she spoke to bared his dagger like teeth in what could be considered a smile, "Your wand if you would please."

She dutifully handed over her wand, letting the goblin inspect the magical signature to make sure she was who she claimed to be, he handed her the wand back, "This way Heiress Black, Grimjaw will help you."

She followed the squat creature to a room off the main one, she watched as he placed his hand on the door and it melted away. He motioned for her to go in and once she was in the door reappeared behind her with a bang. She spun on the spot trying to figure out why it was closed and why the goblin didn't enter with her.

"Pease Heiress Black, Grimjaw means you no harm." A deep voice spoke from behind her, she spun again noticing a goblin sat behind a desk, he had dark skin almost black in color, his eyes had an eerie redness to them. She suddenly remembered the manners instilled upon her from Andromeda.

She bowed her head slightly, "Peace Grimjaw of Gringotts, I was merely caught off guard." Grimjaw nodded his acceptance of her non apology.

"So you want to forge a loan document to buy a muggle car, you have enough to buy it outright, why the loan?" Grimjaw locked his long fingers under his chin staring intently at her.

"I can get a better deal if I do it with a loan, obviously I don't actually need the loan, just the paperwork claiming I have one through a bank in Seattle. I'll be taking the money out of my own account but I would also like a check for the amount of the car to be written from said bank to the auto dealership please." Hermione placed her hands in her lap never breaking eye contact with him.

"That can be arranged, for a fee of course." Grimjaws smile widened showing off his stained teeth.

"Of course, I shall give you one goblin-wrought silver item I have in my vault here. That should be sufficient payment and it will be back to where it rightfully belongs." Hermione raised an eyebrow at the creature waiting for him to agree.

"I will accept the terms Heiress, follow me, we will visit your vault, with a stop to have Irontooth get the papers made." Hermione stood and followed him out the door. He stopped at a desk that had a female goblin sitting behind it.

"Irontooth, Heiress Black needs paperwork made to forge a loan contract for a muggle car, please have this done by the time we get back from her vault."

The female goblin nodded her yellow eyes glaring at Hermione who once again refused to break eye contact first, something she had been taught by Sirius, when she finally looked away Hermione followed Grimjaw to an elevator shaft.

"We do not have the carts that Gringotts London has, we have an elevator that passes through a thieves downfall cloud, no getting drenched and no motion sickness for us to clean." He elaborated at her intrigued look. He pulled a lever that sent the elevator plummeting down, deep into the bowles of the bank.

"Your vault is on the lowest level, reserved for those who have had Gringotts vaults for a millennium, it is directly linked with your London account, everything in there is in here, granted it's only in here if you are the one to access the vault, otherwise it's empty. You have your key, yes?"

She nodded and dug in her pocket pulling out the little golden key, she handed it to him and watched as he placed it in the lock but didn't turn it.

"Place your hand here." He pointed to a small indent just big enough for her hand to fit palm down on the door. She did as he asked, "now allow a trickle of your magic to be fed through your hand into the door, this will allow the door to recognize your magical signature, we will only need to do this once."

She allowed the purple of her magic to light her fingertips, Grimjaw held back a small gasp as he felt the power radiating from her, it wasn't overwhelmingly strong but it was comforting, something that wasn't normally felt by goblins around wizarding folk, they always felt the underlying threat that wizards were to them. Shaking his head, he ran a claw down the door watching as it glowed blue and melted away from his finger, the locks twisting and turning till the entire door had edged into the wall.

Hermione stepped cautiously into the vault, quickly moving to a chest that had an undetectable extension on it just like her purse, laying her hand on the lock it popped open revealing piles of galleons. She quickly did the math in her head and counted out 3100 galleons, depositing them into 3 bags. Once that was done, she redid the wards on the chest. Looking around she found the big armoire with the goblin made silver detailing, she hurried over and took down the ward surrounding it. Reaching in she found exactly what she was looking for, a sword not unlike the Sword of Gryffindor, goblin made and able to absorb anything that would make it more powerful, this one was the least sentimental of the 4 she had. It had been won by a Black ancestor centuries ago so she was willing to part with it.

She then redid the wards on the armoire keeping the sword and it's sheath tightly within her grip as she headed back out. Grimjaw's eyes were fixated on the sword, he reached for it as soon as she stepped through but she kept it out of his reach. "Not until I get my check" She stared him down while he growled at her.

Finally, Grimjaw nodded, "So you say Heiress, back to the elevator we shall see if Irontooth has the paperwork finished."

Once they broke the surface Hermione followed the goblin to the desk where the female was waiting.

"Irontooth, do you have the required paperwork and the check for Heiress Black?"

"It is done, if Heiress Black will sign this contract, the paperwork will show the settle bank is the one with the loan as will the check, do you have the galleons?"

Hermione handed over the three sacks, watching as Irontooth weighed it.

"3100 galleons, equal to 20,584 US dollars. Is this correct?"

Hermione nodded, Irontooth placed the sacks on her desk and waved her hand over the blank check filling it out, she then stamped the bottom.

"This stamp will take on the name of a random banker at whatever bank you choose."

"I'd like it to be Bank of the West please."

Irontooth nodded, waving her hand again the paperwork was finished stating the loan amount, interest, etc.

Hermione was handed a blood quill to sign the contract stating she was paying Gringotts to have them cut the check for her and she was returning a goblin made artefact to its rightful owners, she carefully read through the contract making sure there was nothing in there to trick her with. Finding nothing she quickly signed, ignoring the sting as the quill drew her blood. Once that was finished Grimjaw handed her a small rag that had a bit of dittany on it. She nodded her thanks and pressed it to the wound on the back of her hand. Seconds passed and the sizzling stopped so she pulled the rag away and noticed the smooth skin of her hand was back with no scars.

Taking her paperwork and the check she placed them in her bag and stood to face Grimjaw.

"Grimjaw of Gringotts, I return this sword to you, from the House of Black. Please take it as a token of my appreciation, may your gold flow and your enemies be slain."

Hermione locked eyes with Grimjaw as she spoke perfect, if not accented, gobbledegook as she presented him with the sword. She wanted to laugh at the way his eyes widened marginally.

"Accepted Heiress of House Black, may your gold flow and your enemies be slain."

He bowed slightly to her as she nodded her head in response. She left the bank with everything she needed and headed to their apparition point. She popped away without a sound and found herself back in the alley by her rental car.

Wandering over she climbed into the car content to wait for Teddy and Bella to return. She pulled out her cell phone and sent a quick text to Bella letting her know she was there and to take their time.

Minutes passed and she heard the distinct laughter of Teddy coming closer to the car, getting out she grabbed Teddy from his stroller and tickled him, she packed him into the car seat and placed the stroller in the back. She got in the car and headed for the dealership, once there she had Teddy and Bella stay in the car knowing this wouldn't take very long.

"Hermione, good you're back, do you have the check and paperwork?" Kae had wandered up towards the door when he saw her getting out of the car. He was struck by how cute she was when he first saw her, big blue-green eyes, black hair, what wasn't braided spilled down her back, full kissable lips.

Nodding she pulled the paperwork out of her bag and handed it to him.

"Perfect! Take a seat at my desk and I'll be right back with the keys to your new car! I'll have it pulled around front first." He jogged away as she made herself comfortable in the plush leather chair.

"Okay Hermione everything looks to be in order, here are the keys to your new car, may I walk you out? I would like to get a picture of you and your new car for our site."

"Sure! Thank you so much for your help, you've been very patient with my search." Hermione took the keys and headed out front where her new car awaited. Holding the keys up with a big smile she posed in front of the car.

"Perfect! Now I'm going to give you my card in case you need anything from us..." He trailed off holding a card out to her.

She took it and turned to Bella with a smile, they decided to have Bella drive the rental home with Teddy since his seat was hooked in.

"Also, Hermione..." She turned around coming face to face with Kae, he must have stepped closer without her noticing, "My personal cell is on the back, give me a call sometime yeah?" with that he winked at her before turning and walking back into the dealership leaving Hermione gaping like a fish and Bella roaring with laughter.

Hermione hopped into the new car and smacked her head against the steering wheel her face felt like it was on fire, she couldn't remember the last time a guy made her blush this much. Shaking her head, she pulled out of the dealership behind Bella and the group headed back to Forks.


	16. A Grave Mistake

_**Recognizable characters belong to their rightful owners, some story plot may mimic cannon but this is an AU**_

 _ **Here we are! I hope you're all good after Memorial Day here in the US!**_

 _ **Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out! I had a bunch of family stuff and work come up and just couldn't find the time and want to write.**_

 _ **As always Beta love to Starkiss666**_

 _ **Constructive criticism is welcome, if you review please leave a name so if I want to shout out to you I can!**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

* * *

Back at home Remus was napping while Sirius was down in the basement finishing up the expansion. They had added a play room for Teddy that was off the formal dining room, a spare bedroom, a mudroom off the garage for after the moon, a bathroom on the first floor had been added. After those were done, he sent Remus off to nap telling him he could handle the basement by himself. He elongated the room and divided it into three rooms, a dueling chamber, potions lab and a laundry room. Freshening and cleansing charms did just fine on clothes but they always felt as though they were starched within an inch of their lives, the muggle way was much better.

Looking around the potions lab he was finishing he smiled, Hermione would love it. The walls were dark stone and he had created built in floor to ceiling shelves along one side for books. He had expanded it a little more than necessary so he could put a humidity controlled store room in for her. Some of the ingredients for the potions she worked on demanded a delicate climate to keep them fresh. Once he was done there, he warded the door to keep anyone but him, Remus and Hermione out.

The dueling chamber was brightly lit and charmed like the room of requirement, not as extensively but it could create most of what they might need, dummies and targets that moved, hard floors that had cushioning charms built in, there was a section off to the side that housed muggle self-defense weapons, while not a master he had insisted that Hermione and Harry be trained in hand to hand combat, you couldn't always rely on having a wand in battle.

The laundry room was a complete contrast to the other two rooms, it had tile that looked like wood, cream walls and dark wood shelves lined the space above where the washer and dryer would go. There was also a big utility sink on one side of the room and he had conjured a metal drying rack that folded out from the wall for delicate clothes that needed air drying. He was happy with the way it all turned out, he was sure Hermione would love it.

He headed back upstairs to put the finishing details on the spare room and Teddy's playroom. The playroom had dark dutch doors and plush cream stain resistant carpet. One wall was all floor to ceiling plain glass windows, he had decided to leave the decorating to Hermione and Remus, if it was up to him the room would be covered in motorcycles and quidditch memorabilia. Looking around he conjured two dark wood bookshelves that matched the door, he placed them on either side of the charmed fireplace, casting a permanent sticking charm to keep them in place, just in case Teddy got adventurous enough to try and climb them. The fireplace was made of what looked like marble and would heat the room if needed or just be lit to offer some light and comfort, the fire that burned in it was magical, it couldn't burn skin or materials. On the slab of marble in front of the fireplace he conjured a screen for in front of the fireplace. It was metal and had the tree of life built into it. Satisfied that he had done everything that he could in this room he decided to go sit in the living room and relax, they had gotten the TV hung on the wall but there was no cable yet, so he popped in a movie and promptly fell asleep in the recliner.

* * *

Bella and Hermione pulled up in front of Hermione's house, Bella let out a low whistle.

"This place is gorgeous Hermione! Also, don't forget I saw you get Kae's number, are you going to call him?!" Bella had pulled Teddy out of the car and was watching as Hermione unhooked his car seat and transferred it to her new car. Hermione froze and then stood up quickly bumping her head on the door frame of the backseat she let out a yelp followed but a cuss word that had Teddy scolding her for using it.

"I haven't decided if I will or not." She replied rubbing the sore spot on her head and muttering a simple healing spell. Letting the cooling waves of magic sooth her head and her blushing face. "He's attractive I'll admit that, I could get lost in those eyes but I don't know how I feel about dating so soon after Ronald." She spat the last word out like it left a bad taste in her mouth.

"Ronald, is exactly the reason you should get back on the dating scene! Don't let that pasty, freckled ass, boy ruin your dating life. Go out with Kae, even if it's just one night and one date. It'll be worth it, at least to help you move past that ginger fuck."

Taking Teddy from Bella, Hermione's eyes widened at the insults her cousin hurled towards her ex, Bella noticed and chuckled.

"You think that's bad you need to hear the other stuff dad says about your ex. He's much more creative than I am, I chose a few of the more tasteful insults."

That made Hermione laugh out loud. "Get the bags out of the rental, will you? Go ahead and put them all in the new car I'll resize them when we get to your place and we'll sort through what's yours and mine. I'm going to run Teddy in to his dad, he's getting sleepy."

She nodded down at the bleary-eyed toddler who was doing his best to stay awake, a big yawn snuck out and her buried his head in her shoulder. After Bella agreed she wandered inside, first thing she saw was Sirius snoring in the recliner, Salt was still playing on the tv in front of him, not a surprising choice given he was in love with Angelina Jolie. She snorted softly when he snored loudly. Walking over she shook his shoulder only to come face to face with the business end of his wand. She wasn't surprised and she didn't react until his eyes focused on her holding a sleeping Teddy.

"Oh, Kitten you're home. Sorry bout' that, you know how it is." His face fell after he said that, but his smile brightened when a tiny snore came from Teddy. "Do you want me to take him up to his room?"

Hermione shook her head, "No, I'll take him but I just wanted someone to be aware that he was in his room and not still with me. I didn't wanna wake Moony up since the moon is tomorrow and I know he needs his rest. I bought a car today." She shifted Teddy a bit in her arms, "Bella is outside waiting for me to take her home, so I'm gunna run up and put him to bed, I'll be back in a little bit, if Uncle Charlie is home I may stay and chat, if so I'll be home around 7." She glanced at the old grandfather clock, one of the few things Remus still possessed from his parents, it read 3:45.

"That's fine kitten, I'll make dinner tonight, I'm thinking steaks, Moony is gunna need quite a bit of red meat to keep his energy up tomorrow." Sirius settled himself back into the recliner, his eyes focusing on the screen in front of him.

Hermione headed up the stairs, stopping once to poke her head into Remus's room and smiling when she saw him sprawled out on top of the covers. Reaching Teddy's room she laid him in his cot and pulled his shoes off him before covering him with a blanket and setting a stuffed animal near him. She kissed his forehead and backed out quietly pulling the door closed behind her leaving it cracked just a bit. Heading back downstairs she stopped to say bye to Sirius and headed back out to the car, Bella was already perched in the passenger seat with the car running waiting for her.

Climbing in she glanced at Bella who was playing on her phone, Hermione's head snapped back to look at Bella again.

"What the hell Bella?! What are you doing with my cell?"

She lunged for the phone, missing as Bella leaned away and finished what she was doing.

"Here I'm done! You can have it back if you promise that you won't be mad at me."

Hermione glared at her cousin, "I'll decide if I'm mad when I see what you've done."

She snatched the phone back and started scrolling through trying to figure out what Bella did. She finally got to the messages and saw she had a new one that was sent to a number she didn't recognize. Clicking it her eyes widened at what she read. **' _Hey Kae! It's Hermione, I'm so glad you gave me your number! :) It was awesome meeting you and I would really like it if we could maybe meet up and get a coffee or dinner? Let me know what you think_ _talk soon.'_**

Hermione couldn't believe it, "You messaged him! Why would you do that? I told you I didn't know if I was ready to get back into the dating scene! Uhg Bella...now I'm going to have to message him and say it was you!"

Bella snorted, "If you do that it'll just make you look like you regret sending him that message, no one ever believes that it was someone else. Just go on the date, hell you don't even know if there is a date yet he hasn't replied! Chill out, you can do this as repayment for making me buy those damn garters," She leveled a glare at her older cousin.

Hermione deflated, "Fine, IF he messages back, I'll go out with him for a date."

Bella squealed, the sound hurting Hermione's ears, "Cease that noise this instant Bella!"

Her tone sounding so much like her old potions professor it made her wince. "Sorry, I'm just annoyed you went behind my back and messaged him after I told you I wasn't sure if I was ready or not."

Bella shrugged, "It's fine, I knew you'd be upset with me if I did it but it didn't matter to me. You need to get over him and you know what they say right?"

Hermione raised a brow and shook her head.

Bella gave her a grin that made her look eerily like a wolf, "What better way to get over someone than to get under someone else."

Hermione couldn't do anything but gape at her cousin as they started down the road.

* * *

Edward had barely put the car in park when the drivers side door was ripped open and he was pulled out and bombarded with questions. Fending off the vice like grip the tiny vampire had on his arm he just stared at her for a minute trying to figure out what she was saying and what she was thinking but both things were going a mile a minute and he couldn't keep up.

"Alice, stop, repeat slowly." He put his hands on her shoulders and forced her to stop vibrating with excitement. Looking up he saw Jasper walking towards them and felt a wave of calm settle over him and he could see the moment it took effect on Alice.

"Who did you run into at the store? How did they know what you were? Do we need to leave?"

She rapidly fired the questions at him and he just blinked, "I saw Bella and followed her and her cousin Hermione into the store, the person who threatened me was Hermione. I don't believe she will out us as long as we don't hurt Bella or anyone else, not like we were planning to anyway."

Alice stopped moving and her eyes became unfocused as she saw a different world. Jasper was there immediately rubbing her shoulders as she shook off her vision.

"Well, I believe everything will be okay but I still can't see this Hermione girl, every time I have a vision, I can hear a distorted version of her voice and a faint shimmer where she should be standing but nothing else. What else do you know about her Edward?"

He shrugged, "I couldn't read her mind, she knew every time I tried which is odd. She shocked me when she poked me in the chest, literally shocked me, sent something that felt like electricity through her finger into me, and she grabbed my arm and did something that made it feel like it was burning without actually burning me."

He hadn't noticed Carlisle's arrival outside until he cleared his throat.

"I have a theory about who you met but I need to contact some of my friends before I share it with you, if I'm right you met someone who's world is as secret as our own."

All eyes snapped to him, "I'll go make some calls but until I hear back, I'm not going to tell you my theory."

With that he turned and walked back into the house leaving the rest of his family outside to wonder, not for the first time, what he knew that they didn't.

* * *

Hermione dropped Bella off after noticing Charlie wasn't home, she started back towards her house, intent on maybe taking a nap before dinner tonight. As she was driving out of town something caught her eye, keeping pace with her car was the light grey wolf she had seen outside the wards the other day, it was weaving in and out of the trees along the road glancing at the car every now and again.

Hermione slowed down and so did the wolf, noticing a little turn off that lead into the woods she took it. Finding a place where her car couldn't be seen from the highway and parked. She got out and stood in front of the car waiting for the wolf. She didn't have to wait that long before the wolf stepped out from the tree line, it padded towards her and stood mere inches away. Hermione was about 95% sure it was Leah but she still held her breath watching as the wolf glanced around before padding back into the woods.

Seconds later Hermione felt the magic in the air shift and a voice came out from behind a tree, "do you happen to have any clothes or anything I can borrow for a minute to speak with you?" Hermione walked to the back of the car and pulled out one of the dresses she bought and wandlessly made it longer so it would fit Leah a bit better. She shut the back end and walked to the tree the voice came from and stuck the dress around the trunk, feeling Leah grab it she wandered back to the car to wait. A minute or two passed and Leah stepped out from around the tree, looking nothing short of a supermodel with her toned curves and tall stature, being barefoot and barefaced did nothing to distract from how pretty she was.

Leah was scowling and playing with the hem of the dress, obviously uncomfortable with the short length. Hermione got the feeling she was much more comfortable in a t-shirt and jeans, which she could understand, as much as she liked dolling up you really couldn't beat a comfy well-worn pair of jeans and a big t-shirt.

"I'm going against my alpha talking to you right now, because you obviously know what I am, but I have a feeling you figured it out long before I showed you just now." Leah raised her head and met Hermione's eyes. "I need to know about him, about your uncle, please..."

The last word was so quiet that if Hermione didn't have heightened hearing, she would've missed it. Hermione smiled at the woman in front of her.

"Ask away Leah, I'll tell you anything you need to know, well, within reason."

Leah looked around and came to lean on the car next to her.

"What's he like? You said he has a son, where's his mom? What is he that makes him smell different?" She blurted out the questions one right after another without giving Hermione a chance to answer.

"Remus is one of the most amazing men I've had the pleasure of knowing, he has been there for me since Sirius adopted me when I was 14. He's like a second father more than an uncle really. He would do anything for the people he cares about, he always puts everyone else before himself to an almost alarming degree. He does have a son, Teddy is 2, his mother isn't around because she passed away a few weeks after Teddy's birth. I cannot tell you why he smells the way he does, it's not my secret to share Leah, I hope you understand that."

Leah looked thoughtful as she absorbed what Hermione had told her before she nodded.

"Can I ask how old he is? Age doesn't really matter to me but Sam is having a fit about the age difference."

Hermione chuckled, "Remus is 42."

Leah's eyes widened, "42? That's a pretty big gap, 22 years!"

Hermione's eyes narrowed, "You just told me that age doesn't really matter Leah, are you saying that you've just lied to me?"

Leah's mouth snapped shut with an audible click, she shuddered at the cold look the tiny girl was giving her. "No, I just wasn't expecting that big of a gap, although it makes sense. Given you're what, 24 or so? That would have made him 18 when you were born."

Hermione laughed, "I'm 22, and if it makes you feel any better, his last wife was 14 years younger than him, there's something about Remus that just attracts the younger women." She reached out and nudged Leah who gave her a small smile.

"So Hermione, how did you figure out what we were, the boys kept going on and on about you and how you make them feel and how not scared of their aura you are, you also noticed me and pulled off the highway, how did you know it was me?"

Hermione shrugged, "I've had my suspicions for a while, I studied the Quileute legends when I learned we shared a border with you and they mention the warriors that turn into wolves when faced against the cold ones quite often, granted, there wasn't a lot of detail but knowing what I know, it was pretty easy to put it together. Plus, you're not the first 'shapeshifter' I've met Leah."

The older women's eyes widened comically, "We aren't shapeshifters we are werewolves."

Shaking her head Hermione replied, "No, you're not werewolves, trust me Leah, you're a shapeshifter."

Leah opened her mouth and Hermione cut her off, "No, I cannot tell you how I know you're not a werewolf right now, maybe another time, and please note I said I CANNOT not WILL NOT."

Leah's head turned to the side, "If you can't tell me that, can you tell me what you are? You're not fully human, I can smell it on you. Jake has some weird theories but none of us have really listened to him, by the way I love how you handled him at the store, the boy needed someone to take him down a few notches, that temper of his is going to get him in trouble sooner or later."

Hermione just smirked and shook her head, "I'm not ready to let you know exactly who I am. I promise I'm not a threat to you or your pack though Leah, and the fact that you've obviously been set on Remus means you're basically family, also, did Jake tell you about that? That's kind of surprising given his attitude."

Leah shook her head, "No, I probably shouldn't tell you this but oh well, the pack can communicate with each other through their thoughts when in wolf form, there's no defense against it, we can't turn it off, anything one of us knows the rest do."

It was Hermione's turn to be shocked, "Seriously? You have like no privacy? Is this how Sam found out about Remus? I just assumed you told him. Him being your alpha and what not."

Her mind started working a mile a minute, she was sure there was a way to block the others from reading their minds. She wasn't sure she was quite ready for the rest of the pack to learn everything she'd told Leah yet. She also wasn't ready to let Leah in on the fact that she was a witch either though.

"Nope, he saw what I was thinking about after finding out Remus was my mate. Trust me, if there was a way to block them out I would. I hate having everyone in the pack knowing all of my business especially Sam and my brother." Leah huffed and crossed her arms.

Hermione laughed, "I can understand not wanting everyone in your business. I'd like to invite you to our home sometime. I'll need to speak to Remus first of course but do you think you'd be open to coming and meeting him, formally?"

Leah bit her lip and studied the shorter girl for a moment, "I think that would be fine, IF he agrees, I'd understand if he doesn't want to meet me though, I kind of just bolted that first time."

"Nonsense Leah, he'll be delighted to meet you finally, let's see about getting you my number." Hermione walked back to the car and started rummaging around trying to find a pen and a scrap of paper. Finding one she quickly jotted down her number and tore the scrap in half.

"Here is my number if you want..."

Leah interrupted her "I don't have a way to carry that with me when I change, can I just give you mine instead and you can text me so I have yours?"

Hermione smacked her forehead, "Duh, now I feel dumb, sure that would work perfect."

Pulling her phone out she unlocked it and added Leah's name and number. She shot off a quick 'Hi' to her before the phone vibrated in her hand, notifying her of an incoming message.

 **' _Hey Hermione! I'm so glad you messaged me! ;) I would definitely be up for grabbing a bite to eat! I know the perfect place. What day and time works for you?'_**

Hermione felt her cheeks heat up, she couldn't believe Kae actually messaged her back, oh she was going to kill her cousin!

"You okay Hermione? You're getting awfully red there."

Leah snickered when Hermione jumped and blushed harder.

"Yes, yes I'm fine thank you. Ok I sent you a text so you'll have my number and we will make plans for you to meet Remus sometime soon. I really should be going; I told my papa I'd be home right after dropping Bella off."

Leah nodded, "I'll just shrug this off behind the tree so you can grab it after I change."

Hermione nodded, she stuck her hand in her pocket and gripped her wand, watching as Leah stepped behind the trees again. She waited until she felt the change in the air before drawing her wand. Leah stepped out from behind the tree and gave Hermione a small sharp nod of her giant head before turning to take off into the woods. Hermione struck with lighting quick reflexes, stunning Leah. She watched as the wolf fell to the ground unconscious, letting out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding she walked up to the prone form on the ground. She hadn't known if her magic would even affect her, but it was a risk she needed to take.

Quickly she dove into Leah's mind and started placing locks on the memories of their conversation, making sure Leah would remember it but making it so none of the other wolves would be able to see this conversation happening, it would protect Leah and herself for a bit longer. Once she was finished, she pulled out of her mind and cast a simple variation of the lang-lock curse on her. It would stop her from speaking of their meeting to anyone until she saw fit to remove the spell.

"Rennervate" she pointed her wand at Leah and watched as the wolf's eyes opened slowly, she placed her wand back in her pocket before moving closer.

"Leah?"

When the wolf didn't respond she edged closer, "Leah? Are you okay?"

Hermione gasped when Leah's head snapped to her, "Oh fuck me."


	17. Hold On To Memories

**Here we go! Next chapter for you all, I hope you enjoy it.**

 **As always this IS and AU some events may mimic the normal timeline but not on purpose.**

 **Also, CONSTRUCTIVE** **criticism** **is welcome, I don't enjoy putting people on blast but seriously if you don't like the story at all just don't read it. You don't need to leave super long reviews bashing my fanfic.**

 **Shout out to my beta Starkiss666**

 **Thank you to all who review it makes me so happy to read them!**

* * *

Sirius awoke from his nap with a start, his eyes darting around the room trying to figure out what had woken him. His steel eyes finally settled on the small glowing otter that was sitting on its haunches a few inches away from his face, the otters mouth opened and he heard Hermione's voice come out.

"Papa, I need you to come to me, now, do NOT bring Remus. I have a problem."

He now knew what had woken him, Hermione had tugged on his charm, she obviously wasn't in immediate danger because it didn't transport him there. It did give him an idea of where she was so he could apparate to her, it was one of the twin's most ingenious inventions if he did say so. He quickly ran upstairs and left a note for Moony to find when he woke up, he then set an alarm on Teddy's bed that would wake Moony if the toddler woke up before he did. Without a second thought he focused on where the charm was telling him to go and disappeared with a tiny pop.

Seconds passed and the squished feeling finally went away as he landed in a spot about twenty feet away from Hermione. He didn't move from his spot as his eyes took in the prone form of a huge grey wolf laying at his daughters' feet and then took in the frizzed-out braids and torn top she was wearing, she was also sporting a gash on her forearm. Hermione's blue-green eyes met his steely grey and she frowned at him.

"I messed up papa, I stunned her once and modified her memories because of a chat we had, she told me how there's no secrets between her and the other wolves and I'm not ready for them to find out everything her and I spoke about. When I was finished and woke her up and the human part of her wasn't there, she was all wolf."

Sirius stepped forward and gently grabbed the arm bearing the wound, with a flick of his wand it was healed, what surprised him was the scar that was left behind. After years of healing his, James and Peter's wounds from spending the moons with Remus he never left behind scars when healing. He looked up at Hermione sadly, she just shrugged and he continued by mending her torn shirt. Once he was satisfied she was in no pain, he allowed his mind to focus on what she had just told him.

"You stunned her while she was in her wolf form?" His eyes raked over the grey wolf again, crouching down looking for any wounds.

"Yes, the first time and this time. I don't know why her human side didn't wake up when I rennervated her." Hermione started chewing on her bottom lip and looked at Leah with worry shining in her eyes.

"Don't worry kitten, I think we can fix this. First off, I want to see exactly what happened when you stunned her. I need you to show me."

He stood up and placed his hands on her shoulders steadying her, she had started shaking a bit.

"Kitten, I need you to take a deep breath and calm down, she will be fine, I told you I think we can fix this. You didn't do anything wrong; you didn't hurt her, now breathe and show me exactly what happened, even while you were in her head. Are you ready?"

He waited till she nodded and locked eyes with him, wordlessly and painlessly he entered her memories.

 _He watched as Leah and Hermione chatted, talking about Leah's mate being Remus and all that, he saw as Hermione watched Leah walk behind the tree, he waited as Hermione pulled out her wand and he felt the way she felt the magic in the air shift. When Leah stepped out from behind the tree Hermione flicked her wand in the wolfs direction, she fell to the ground and memory Hermione dove into the wolfs mind, pulling Sirius in with her._

 _He watched as she locked the memories so that Leah would remember them and watched as she placed the lang-lock variation on her. Then she pulled out and he knew exactly where everything had gone wrong. Though he had found the problem he stayed and watched as Hermione realized she had done something wrong, Leah's lip curled back into a snarl as she rounded on Hermione. Without a second thought the huge wolf had pounced, Hermione had quick enough reflexes that she had ducked out of the way, not quick enough to avoid the sharp claws of Leah but quick enough not to be killed, she had landed on her back and rolled out of the way as Leah pounced again, this time ripping her shirt. When Hermione rolled over again, she flung her wand out and stunned Leah. She laid there breathing heavily before he watched her send the patronus and then tug on his charm before laying back and sighing._

Pulling out of Hermione's mind he looked at her, "Kitten, when you rennervated her were you picturing Leah or just focusing on the wolf in front of you?"

Hermione cocked her head to the side, "I guess I was just focused on her in front of me, she's one and the same though, the wolf is her, she is the wolf."

Sirius shook his head, "You've never stunned and rennervated an animagus have you, at least, not one in their animal form. It's not a common thing since there is a spell to force them back into their human skin, but when you rennervate an animagus in their animal form you need to picture the human you're doing it to, that way you're not just waking up the animal part of their mind. You of all people know that there's a difference in the way you think when you're in your other skin. She may not be a true animagus but their magic is close enough that I believe you need to treat them as such."

Hermione's mouth dropped open, "How could I have overlooked something so obvious? I didn't even think about that. I've read multiple studies about the effects of stunning and rennervating animagi's! I can't believe I was so stupid!"

She smacked herself on the forehead and looked at the ground. Seconds passed when she felt Sirius wrap his arm around her shoulders.

"Things happen kitten, you did everything else right, everyone makes mistakes and luckily for you this is one we can fix. Now that you know the problem you can wake her up, I'm going to mask my scent and disillusion myself so she can go home without me knowing I was here, I'll be waiting in your car."

With a flick of his wrist his scent was gone and he walked to the car before literally disappearing into it. Hermione steeled herself before pointing her wand at the un-moving wolf in front of her.

Getting a picture of human Leah along with focusing on her animal counterpart, Hermione took a deep breath.

"Rennervate" she whispered and watched as the wolfs eyes blinked open for the second time, she kept her wand in her hand but hidden from Leah's view just in case they had been wrong. She held her breath as the giant head of the wolf lifted and turned towards her. She let it out when she saw the comprehension in her eyes.

"I'll see you around Leah. Don't worry, I don't think your pack will know anything we talked of today."

With a nod of her giant head the wolf took off into the woods. Hermione couldn't help the sigh that escaped her before she turned and saw Sirius giving her a thumbs up and a grin from the car. Rolling her eyes she made her way there and climbed in. Not saying anything as she started the car and headed towards the house.

Sirius let out a whistle, "This is a nice car you bought kitten! It suits you."

Hermione just grinned and put the pedal down.

* * *

Harry Potter was bored, he wasn't even 3 weeks into his summer holiday and he already had his lesson plans for the year set up, he'd travelled back to Hogwarts and set up the "decorations" he had for his room and office, well, the ones that were safe to leave at the castle. He sighed as he ran through a mental checklist of the things he had to do, realizing with a start that he was finished with his summer checklist, a smirk came to his face when he thought of how proud Hermione would be. Picking up his cup of coffee, he took a sip as he unfurled his copy of the Daily Prophet, scanning through the articles ran by Rita Skeeter and glaring at the pictures before he slammed it down and picked up his advanced copy of the Quibbler.

A smile took over his face as he thought of his girlfriend, if you had asked him even three years ago if he could see himself in love with Luna Lovegood he would have laughed out loud. Now, he couldn't picture his life without her, he wanted to marry her, he knew that much. He started reminiscing about what brought them together as a couple.

 _ ***Flashback to three-ish years ago***_

Harry stepped out of the floo into his parents old cottage, it wasn't perfect but it was his, he had recently moved in after fixing it up enough to be habitable. One of the best changes Headmistress McGonagall had done was if it wasn't your night to patrol the halls you were allowed to floo back to your private home if you so wished. He wandered through the house and settled on his lounge, kicking off his shoes and draping his teaching robes over the back, he flipped on the tv. Having never been allowed to watch it growing up he had quickly become enamored in a few shows.

A couple hours passed and his stomach rumbled, groaning he peeled himself off the lounge and walked into the kitchen. He was rummaging through the fridge with a glass bottle of Dr. Pepper in one hand and looking for food with the other when he heard his floo flare.

"Harry?"

Ginny's voice rang through, he pulled his head out of the fridge a piece of cheese dangling from his mouth as he turned to see his girlfriend standing awkwardly in the doorway leading to the kitchen, her arms wrapped snuggly around her torso. He shoved the bit of cheese in his mouth and swallowed quickly before walking over and kissing Ginny on the cheek.

"It's good to see you Gin! It's been a while."

Ginny was currently one of the starting chasers for the Holyhead Harpies, she was the youngest starting chaser the team had ever had, having been recruited straight from Hogwarts and skipped being on the reserves going straight to the starting lineup. She was also the youngest captain they'd ever had, gaining her captaincy within her first year. Their busy schedules made it hard for them to see each other but it didn't dampen their love. She knew what days his patrols were on and she had procured an international floo license, allowing her to openly travel from where ever in the world she was playing to Harry's house and her parents.

Ginny returned the cheek kiss almost hesitantly.

"Harry can we sit down? We need to talk."

Harry looked into her eyes, her cinnamon clashing with his emerald irises, he had known this was coming for weeks, the last few times they had seen each other had been less than stellar, what normally ended in a night filled with passion had ended with Ginny staying at her parents after an awkward night out. He sighed and motioned to the table.

Pulling her chair out for her and sliding her into the table before sitting across from her he motioned for her to go ahead. He watched as she steeled herself and took a deep breath.

"I think we need to break up, I almost cheated on you last night and I don't think we are happy together anymore."

All of her words came tumbling out, once she was done, she bit her lip and watched him for a reaction. He had set his pop on the table when he greeted her and he was currently taking a sip and not looking directly at her, finally he nodded.

"I agree that I don't think this is working anymore, I love you Gin but I don't think I'm in love with you anymore. I'm happy you trusted me enough to admit to this instead of trying to hide it."

He gave her a small smile and reached across the table to squeeze her hand. She had tears welling up in her eyes as she squeezed back.

"I wanted to tell you before someone else who saw me flirting with the person did, I was drunk I'll admit, but it felt right and wrong at the same time. It was when they tried to kiss me that I realized what was really happening and stopped. I also wanted to tell you, I think I might be bi."

Now that was a shock for him, she had never once mentioned being attracted to girls.

"What makes you think that Gin?"

She looked down and the table and let go of his hand, "The person I was flirting with was a member of the Ballycastle bats, their starting keeper, her name is Siobhan, I'm sure you've heard of her."

He felt his eyes widen, of course he had heard of Siobhan O'Ceallaigh, not only had he met her once at one of Ginny's games, she was also Quidditch's most eligible bachelorette, every single man was vying for her attention and none could figure out why she wasn't interested. He had heard rumors that even Malfoy had made his move on the woman, only to be shot down.

He couldn't blame them really, she was gorgeous, tall, curvy and strong. She had the blackest hair he had ever seen that hung to her waist in beachy waves, her long fringe bangs drew your attention to her deep blue eyes that were framed by thick black lashes. Her tanned skin made her eyes seem to glow, her full lips were always a deep pink and just begging to be kissed. He could see why Ginny was attracted to the woman, hell he was attracted to the woman. His mind suddenly supplied a picture of Ginny's creamy, pale, freckle spotted shoulders cradled between two supple tan thighs as her deep red hair was fanned out and over them.

He shook his head to get the image of the two of them out of his head, his cheeks burning bright red. As if she could read his mind Ginny grinned at him.

"I'm really sorry it happened this way Harry, I really thought we'd be together forever. I wanted to make it work _so_ bad, everyone was rooting for us, including me. I've been in love with you since I was 11."

Harry nodded, "I understand Gin, I wanted this to work too but I have been feeling like we've been drifting apart for weeks. I'm just glad it ended like this and not after we were married or anything. This way we can still be friends."

Ginny heard the way the last word broke as if he was worried, she got up and pulled him into a tight hug.

"Of course we will still be friends Harry, I just want what's best for both of us and you'll always have a family with the Weasley's don't you ever doubt that."

He returned the hug nodding into her shoulder as he held her close, after a few minutes he pulled away, Ginny looked up into the eyes that she loved so much and she reached up on her tiptoes to press a chaste kiss to the corner of his mouth.

"I do love you Harry, don't ever doubt that okay?"

With that she turned and walked back to the floo, heading to the Burrow. Harry moved back to the lounge, his Dr Pepper clutched in his hand. He sat down and took another swig before deciding he needed something stronger. He finished the bottle and slipped his shoes back on, sent a patronus to Ron and then another to Hermione to meet him at the new bar that had opened in Diagon Alley, The Gilded Lion. Hermione was already waiting for him in a booth when he got there minutes later.

He looked around, "Where's Ron? I sent a patronus to the both of you."

Hermione just shrugged and took a sip of her drink, "I haven't seen him since yesterday, he wasn't home when I went to bed and he was gone when I got up, I honestly don't even know if he came home last night."

Harry stared at his sister there was something wrong with her and he just couldn't seem to put his finger on it, shrugging he asked if she wanted another drink before wandering up to the bar. When he got there he ordered himself a muggle whiskey sour and a burger and chips for him and an order of fish and chips for Hermione. Drink in hand he wandered back to the booth and sat down.

"Ginny and I broke up today." He took a sip of his drink gauging her reaction.

Hermione's eyes widened and she had to swallow the swig of drink she had taken lest she choke on it.

"You what? Why? I thought you guys were happy?"

Harry sighed, "We weren't happy, we were comfortable. We rarely saw each other and when we did the last few times, it ended with Ginny staying at the Burrow instead of with me. Mione' we haven't had sex in over 4 months. Ginny came to the cottage earlier and told me she wasn't happy and I agreed that I wasn't happy either. It was a mutual split that needed to happen before we ruined our friendship trying to stay together. Plus, Ginny has her eye on someone new."

He shrugged and his eyes lit up when he saw Dean Thomas levitating two more drinks and their food over to the table. His stomach rumbled as he watched the food come closer, he quickly downed the rest of his drink and made room for his burger. Hermione had opened her mouth to respond but Dean was there so she closed it and waited, thanking him politely.

Once Dean was out of earshot she turned back to Harry, "What do you mean she has her eye on someone knew? She didn't cheat on you, did she?"

Harry shook his head, swallowing the chip he had slathered in mayo before answering. "She said she almost did but realized right before they kissed her that it was a bad idea, I get the feeling she came almost directly to me after it happened, which I'm glad she did. I'd rather she be up front and honest then try to lie to keep our relationship going. Besides, according to her, I may not have the right equipment for her anymore."

She raised an eyebrow at him, "And what exactly does that mean?"

He took a bite of his burger and pondered exactly how to tell her, "When she almost cheated on me, it was with the starting keeper of the Ballycastle Bats."

He watched as the wheels began to turn in her head and he continued with his food till he heard a sharp intake of air come from her.

"You don't mean Siobhan O'Ceallaigh! There's no way!"

He just nodded his head as Hermione sat back in the booth with a thump, she picked up a chip and dipped it in ketchup before dipping it in the vinegar that came for the fish. Harry shuddered; she had such weird eating habits. He watched as she processed all the information he had given her.

"Well, as long as it was an amicable split and you two are still friends then it doesn't matter if you're together or not. All that matters is you're both happy."

Harry smiled at her and reached for her hand, "You're the best Hermione, I knew you'd take it well, I just needed to talk to someone about it. I'm not even angry or hurt, I am upset just because I wanted it to work, I wanted to be like you and Ron."

He ran his finger over her engagement ring, he remembered when Ron had proposed and how he hadn't listened when he told him that Hermione wouldn't want an ostentatious ring. The ring was gaudy to say the least, a thick yellow gold band covered in alternating diamond and ruby chips and a huge cushion cut ruby sat in the center flanked by two smaller cushion cut diamonds. He knew Ron wanted to show off his new found wealth, having gotten a huge stipend from the Ministry for his Order of Merlin Second Class, but now they were living off Hermione's stipend from her Order of Merlin First Class and the good money she made working freelance for the DRCMC, Ron made decent money as an Auror but he was currently on un-paid probation, for the third time, for fighting with his fellow Aurors, he never let go of his school rivalry, believing all former Slytherins to be evil.

Hermione sighed, "Yes, I so wished for you two to be that way as well, and I know Ron isn't going to handle this well. Do you want me to tell him?"

Harry stuck another chip in his cup of mayo, "No, I think it'll be better coming from me, of course I'm not going to tell him about Ginny maybe liking girls, that's hers to tell. I only told you because I know you wouldn't unfairly judge her, or blame her."

Hermione nodded and they continued on with their meal in silence before an etheral voice floated up behind him.

"Hello Harry, Hermione. Harry, I just wanted to tell you that I'm glad your infestation of wrackspurts are gone."

Harry whipped around to see Luna standing there, his face lit up in a smile. "Luna! I haven't seen you since we left Hogwarts!"

He couldn't help but notice that Luna had grown into her looks, she looked like a pixie, short and willowy. Where her eyes used to freak him out by being a bit too large for her face, he now found himself unable to look away from their pale blue depths. Her long white blonde hair was piled on top of her head in a haphazard bun held up by a stick, at first glance he thought it was her wand but when he looked closer it really was just a stick from a tree. She was wearing her signature radish earrings and it made him smile to see she hadn't changed much.

"Luna, please join us, we've already ordered and got our food but we can get you something ordered too!" Hermione welcomed the younger girl and scooted over to make room for her on the bench. While she still didn't believe in the creature Luna was always spouting off about, she did have a soft spot for the girl.

Luna slid into the booth next to Hermione and gave her a dreamy smile. "Hermione, I see the wrackspurts are infesting you now, they seem to be attracted by that ring of yours, you really should look into giving it back to the person who gave it to you."

Hermione couldn't help the smile and roll of her eyes that came, "I'll think about it Luna."

Harry couldn't help but glance at the blonde again, she was really a pretty girl. He shook his head, no he was only looking at her like that because she was the first girl that wasn't his sister to talk to him since Ginny had left. A few hours later found the three of them parting ways. Once home and in bed Harry slipped off into the dream world, his mind curiously filled with thoughts of a certain blonde witch.

* * *

A couple weeks later he was walking in Hogsmead since it was a Hogsmead weekend for school and he was one of the chaperones. He wasn't paying that close of attention when he walked right into someone sending them and their bag flying.

"Sorry, oh my, I'm sorry I wasn't watching where I was going and I ran into you. Are you hurt, here let me help you with this," He hadn't looked at who he ran into but as soon as he grabbed the persons glasses he knew who it was, he'd never forget those glasses. He slowly raised his head to see her sitting up leaning on her forearms and smiling at him, her pale eyes staring straight into his very soul.

"It's quite alright Harry, I was hunting Nargles and they must have been leading me to you because as soon as we bumped into each other they disappeared." She gave him that small shy smile again.

"Oh, here Luna, let me help you up." With that he grabbed her now outstretched hands and pulled her to her feet, trying to ignore how warm her hands made him feel. He suddenly realized he was still holding her hands and hastily dropped them blushing bright red as she laughed openly.

He shuffled his feet a bit, "I gotta get back to the kids but if you're around tonight would you wanna meet up at The Three Broomsticks maybe? I asked Hermione and Ron to meet me there after school since it's one of my nights off from patrolling. You obviously don't have to come but I figured I'd invite you."

Her face lit up at the invitation, "I'd love to meet you and Hermione there, don't tell them but I'm not too partial to Ronald, Hermione can do so much better. I also see your aura is the brightest it's ever been, I'm sorry you and Ginny didn't pan out but I think she'll be much better with Siobhan."

His eyes widened, "How did you know about that?"

She shrugged delicately, "I just know things sometimes, I haven't seen Ginny since graduation but I knew about her long before she was ready to admit it. Her eyes liked to linger a bit too long on the female form, not that there's anything wrong with that, as long as she is happy that's all that matters."

Harry nodded, "Ok, I really need to go but it was nice seeing you Luna, we will be at the Broomsticks around 7, see you then!" With that he headed back towards the main drag where the students were milling around, his mind filled with thoughts pertaining to Luna that he just couldn't seem to shake.

That night he was waiting for Ron and Hermione when Rosmerta came up to him with a scroll in her hands.

"Here Harry, this was delivered for you." She handed him the scroll and sat a tumbler of firewhiskey in front of him. He saw his name scrawled on the outside of the roll in Hermione's neat script. He unfurled it only to read that she and Ron wouldn't be able to make it and that she was sorry. He sighed and set the note on fire with a quick muttered incendeo. Sipping his drink, he looked around, suddenly the bell above the door chimed and it drew his attention to it.

His mouth went dry when he saw who was standing there, he couldn't help the way his eyes roamed from her head to her feet. Her hair was down but showing how long it had gotten reaching below her bum, but the top half was held back so he could see her makeup free face, she was wearing a knee length bright purple skirt, a black tank top that clung to her was tucked into the skirt, multiple silver and gold bangles lined both her wrists, some had gemstones on them some didn't, he finally landed on her dainty feet, wrapped in midcalf high gladiator sandals, her toenails were painted the same vivid purple as her skirt.

He watched the way her hips swung as she walked towards him, "Hello Harry! Am I the first to arrive?"

She looked around hoping to spot a shock of red hair or Hermione's black curls. Harry swallowed trying to moisten his mouth enough to talk.

"Uh, no, Luna, sorry but Hermione and Ron said they can't make it. It'll just be us for the night, is that okay?"

Luna shot him another one of those smiles that made him almost weak in the knees. "That's fine Harry, I enjoy spending time with you."

So the two of them started talking and what started as a semi awkward meeting turned into weekly dinners and then one night a few months later, after they dined at The Three Broomsticks, Luna asked him to take a walk with her. As they were walking she linked their arms, something she did often, but this time she leaned into him a bit and then pulled him to a stop.

Turning to look at him she put a hand on his shoulder, suddenly she leaned up and pressed her lips to his, there was no hesitation. He found himself eagerly returning the kiss, letting his arms wrap around her waist as he felt her arms wrap around his neck, her fingers threading through his hair.

He broke the kiss and pressed his forehead to hers, "Be my girlfriend Luna."

She just smiled and nodded before kissing him again.

* * *

 ***Present Time***

As if him thinking about her summoned her the floo roared to life and out stepped his girlfriend.

"Hello love, what are you doing home so early?" he quickly hopped up from the table and wrapped Luna in his arms, planting a firm kiss upon her plump lips.

"I just had a feeling you needed me, I also had a feeling I needed to take the next three weeks off work and we will go to Washington to take care of Teddy for them, stay for a few days and then you and I will be going on a vacation for two weeks."

She said it with such an airy finality it took Harry a minute to process what she was saying.

"Are you serious? You took that time off to spend the weeks with my family and me?" He was shocked, he knew how important Luna found her job.

"Of course I did Harry, I love you and I love them. Plus, we need a break and I want to travel a bit, I've never been to America."

She loved the way his eyes lit up when she said she loved him, she kissed him again before flouncing off to the bedroom to pack, she couldn't suppress the giggle that escaped when he snuck up behind her and tossed her on the bed. He followed quickly settling himself between her legs and kissing her neck.

"You are amazing." Punctuating every word with a kiss as he pulled his wand out and summoned a small box from his dresser drawer. He caught it without looking and then sat up kneeling on the bed with her legs resting around his hips, he relished in the flush that had spread from her collarbones to her neck and up her face. Her hair was fanned out around her looking like a halo, he made a mental note to preserve this memory forever, clearing his throat he opened the box.

"Marry me Luna."


	18. A Sight to Behold

**_Hello all! I wanted to start out by saying how sorry I am that this took so long to be posted and sorry for the shortness of the chapter. I've had a very stresfull July with both of my parents having acciendents and being in the hospital. I hope you all enjoy the new chapter and forgive me. :)_**

 ** _As always all recognizable characters belong to their respective authors._**

 ** _Beta love to Starkiss666_**

 ** _Thank you all for the great reviews! I'm glad you like my dreamcast 3anona!_**

 ** _Enjoy!_**

* * *

The day of the full moon was filled with running around strengthening the property wards for Hermione. She had just gotten back into the house when she felt a shift in the wards and heard a rustling near the front door. Glancing through the peep hole she squealed and threw the door open.

"Harry! Luna! I'm so glad you're here."

She drug the duo into a hug before stepping back and allowing them inside. Shutting the door behind them she turned and froze on the spot, her eyes focused on Lunas hand that was resting lightly in Harry's.

"No way, really?"

Harry looked confused but Luna nodded and smiled, pulling her hand out of his and flashing the ring in Hermione's direction.

"Luna it's gorgeous, it is exactly something I would picture you having. Harry! I can't believe you had such great taste in jewelry!"

She examined the ring, it was a white gold band twisted to make it look like twigs, there was two yellow gold leaves on either side of a blue rough diamond. There were 4 little diamond chips set randomly around the main diamond. It was understated, beautiful and unique, exactly like Luna. She felt her eyes watering at the sight and she couldn't be happier for her friends.

"Welcome to the family Luna." She gave the younger girl a huge hug before moving to Harry.

"Congrats little brother, I'm so happy for you." His eyes were shining with happiness. Their moment was interrupted by the arrival of Sirius storming down the stairs and scooping Harry into a big hug.

"Harry! I've missed you my boy!" Sirius pulled away a grin on his face, he turned to Luna grabbing her left hand and going to place a kiss on her knuckles before freezing his face millimeters from her knuckles.

He stood quickly and pulled her hand to his face, a grin that seemed to split is face in half spread across his lips.

"Luna my dear, is this what I think it is?"

When Luna nodded, he scooped her into his arms and spun her around.

"Welcome to the family! Harry you got yourself a perfect bird here!"

He set her down and clapped Harry on the back, all the excitement had woken Teddy and Remus and they came down just in time to hear him congratulate Harry.

"Harry!" A tiny voice squealed from the stairs and he was suddenly tackled by a turquoise blur. He wasted no time scooping the small boy into his arms and hugging him close.

"Teddy! I swear you've grown a foot since I've last seen you!" He perched the boy on his hip and grinned when his hair turned black and his eyes an emerald green to match Harry.

An exhausted looking Remus stood quietly near them.

"Now, what's this about congratulations?" He questioned softly, Luna raised her hand in response and Remus smiled gently. Pulling her into a soft hug and whispering his congrats before doing the same to Harry.

"Your parents would be so proud of you right now Harry, to see the man you've become, I'm sure their watching, waiting for this next step in your life."

His words made Harrys eyes tear up a bit and he looked down at Teddy to hide it.

"Well, Luna took some time off work, we were hoping to stay for a few days after the moon if that was okay?"

Hermione laughed, "If it's okay? Harry James Potter this is no different than if we lived back home, what's ours is yours." She scolded him lightly and laughed when a sheepish grin spread on his face.

"Remus you need to go back to bed, you look exhausted, I'll have Sirius bring you up some food in a bit." Luna airily ordered the older man who responded with a tired smile and bid them all to have a good day while he napped.

Hermione proceeded to show Harry and Luna around the house, Luna commented that she would bring a couple snippets of her father's dirigible plum bush to plant outside the mudroom door. Sirius and Hermione shared a glance but Sirius shrugged, the house was heavily warded so no muggles would see the odd bush growing upside down fruit.

Once they were done with the tour Sirius proceeded to get a steak and prepare it for Remus, he took along a Honeydukes chocolate bar that Harry had brought over with him. They heard him wake Remus up who answered with a growl followed by a quiet thanks and a sorry for growling at him which just made Sirius laugh.

A few hours later they were all crowded around the TV in the living room, all except Remus who was still upstairs sleeping. They were watching one of Teddy's favorite movies, Tangled. Halfway through the movie Hermione's wand started vibrating, with a glance to Sirius she got up and started getting ready. Grabbing the blanket they always took to cover Remus up after the transformation ended in the morning and stuffing it in the worn backpack that was filled with potions and a cream for him, she watched as Sirius climbed the stairs to get Moony.

"Okay Harry, you know the drill when we leave ward the doors and windows please. We'll be back just after sunrise." After his nod she shot him and Luna a smile and pressed a kiss goodnight to Teddy's head, the small boy was out cold on the couch by Harry.

Remus and Sirius came trudging down the stair's seconds later, the former looking thoroughly exhausted but the glint in his solid amber eyes betrayed the energy the wolf had. They followed suit kissing teddy goodnight. The three headed out the mudroom door and into the slowly darkening night.

After she shut the door, she felt the tingling of Harry's wards go up, she gave the boys a smile and they trapezed to the far edge of the property. Once there they settled into the grass to wait for moonrise.

"I strengthened the wards again earlier today; I know Moony has been making trouble for you so I thought it'd be a good idea." Remus gave her a grateful smile and she jumped a bit when her wand started vibrating to let them know moonrise was less than 5 minutes away. She sighed and stood up to stretch watching as Remus started fidgeting, the beginnings of the change affecting him. She frowned noticing the tremors were worse than they normally were.

Remus started groaning as the shift took over, Hermione dutifully turned away while Sirius helped him strip and folded his clothes setting them off to the side by the bag. She winced as Remus's groans turned to screams which were steadily starting to sound more like howls.

She waited till she felt the magic shift before she turned into her wolf form. Immediately she laid down on her belly and faced Remus who had finished transforming and was currently prowling around a weary looking Padfoot, his tail was tucked under him and his ears were flat against his head. Hermione followed suit worried since normally Remus had enough control with the wolfsbane to recognize them.

The werewolf padded over to padfoot and stood menacingly over him, his lips curled back showing his razor-sharp teeth. He lowered his head and took Padfoot's neck in his mouth biting down slightly causing the animagus to whimper. Hermione had to bite back her answering whine as she watched the unusual display of dominance. She let out a huff of air when Moony finally let Padfoot go, before her mouth snapped shut when he turned his glowing eyes on her. She kept her head down and neck barred as he came over and repeated the snarling and biting, she let out a whine as his teeth sunk into her scruff, it didn't hurt per say but it was definitely uncomfortable.

When he let go she chanced a glance up and saw the look in his eyes shift, Remus was more in control at the moment and she let her tongue lay out the side of her mouth and she scrambled into a crouched position ready to pounce at the werewolf, her tail high and wagging behind her. Moony rolled his eyes but took off running anyway, Padfoot joined in the chase and tackled Moony from the side. The trio played for hours until suddenly Hermione felt a shift in the magic surrounding them. She froze, causing Padfoot to barrel into her, he cocked his head to the side at her but froze too when he noticed the look in her eyes. Suddenly Moony's head snapped to the side and he let out a loud, low howl before he barreled to the property line only to bounce off her wards.

This happened again and again while Hermione and Padfoot tried to lead him away from the property line. They weren't having any luck and they had to dodge Moony's swiping claws and snapping teeth anytime they got close to him. Suddenly a burst of green magic flared from the werewolf surrounding him as he went to hit the wards again, this time they didn't stop him. Hermione couldn't believe it, somehow Moony had performed a burst of accidental magic that allowed him to get through the wards.

She wasted no time following him through, the wards allowing her and Sirius out since they were only designed to keep Moony in. Moony's longer legs and head start put him a ways ahead of her but she just pumped her legs faster trying to catch up. Minutes passed as she chased him through the woods when suddenly a familiar scent hit her nose and her eyes widened in realization. Leah had been near and Moony had sensed her. Hermione let her magic search to see if she could pinpoint where Leah was but she wasn't able to sense her, she did however realize they were heading right towards a group of the shapeshifters, she could only hope they were in their wolf forms.

Seconds passed and she watched as Moony barreled into a clearing and skidded to a halt in front of four of the wolves. He rose up to his back legs and let out a howl, one of his paws raising to swipe at the sandy colored wolf that was standing in front of the others, she hurled herself at Moony tackling him from the side. She wrestled with him jaws snapping, paws swiping, she felt his claws rake down her right side but she paid it no mind. She finally got an opening and closed her jaws around the back of Moony's neck and she flung him away from the other wolves. She planted herself in front of him her lips curled back in a snarl, blood dripping from her mouth, whether it was hers or Moony's she wasn't sure. Suddenly Padfoot was there pulling on Moony's tail to get his attention, Hermione watched as his pupils constricted and the glow of his eyes lessened, he shook his head and she breathed a sigh of relief when she realized Remus was coming back to regain control.

She didn't adjust her posture until Moony turned and lumbered back towards the house, Padfoot hot on his tail. She felt herself sag in relief before she turned to face the wolves behind her the pain from the scratches on her side finally making itself known as her adrenaline left her body, a small whimper escaped. Her eyes raked over the four wolves standing in front of her, she would've laughed if she was in her human form at the look in their eyes. She noticed two of the wolves were a lot smaller than the other two, making her wonder how old they were. After making sure none of them were injured she couldn't help but let her eyes be drawn to the biggest one, a hulking black wolf that seemed to disappear in the dark of the night, he looked like a wolf shaped black hole. Her head cocked to the side before she let out a growl of warning when he made to step closer to her. He froze and shot her a wounded look, his ears lying flat against his head and his tail tucking a bit. She didn't think he'd hurt her but being wounded she didn't want to take any chances, with a final look at them she turned and took off through the woods towards home not stopping till she got back to the house, after making sure she was nowhere near Moony she shifted back and quickly raised the wards around the property again. Shifting again and wincing at the pain she took off looking for the others, there was still a couple hours till sunrise and she just wanted to lay down and sleep.

* * *

Sam snorted as he watched the newest members of his pack playing with each other. Seth, Leah and he had taken Brady and Collin out so they could get used to switching skins and running in their wolf forms. Leah had just left for patrols and he and Seth were just laying around watching the pups rough house and keeping their senses peeled for any danger.

Suddenly Seth's head snapped up, his ears pricked forward, he was on his feet and staring off into the distance.

' _ **Collin, Brady come here now, stay behind us'**_

Sam let his alpha voice seep into the command, making sure the pups would do as he said.

' _ **What is it Seth?'**_

Seth shook his massive head not letting his eyes stray from the spot he was watching.

' _ **I don't know Sam, I hear something, something is coming towards us at a really fast speed. It sounds like it's on all fours so I'm sure it's not a vampire.'**_

Sam trusted Seth's hearing far more than his own but he couldn't help but strain to try and hear what Seth did. His ears pricked up when he suddenly heard something crashing through the trees off in the distance. His sharp eyes were watching the same spot Seth was currently staring at, minutes passed when suddenly something crashed through the tree line into the clearing. He couldn't figure out what he was staring at, it looked wolfish about the same height as them but it didn't have long hair, its snout was shorter and its limbs much, much longer. He watched as it reared up on its hind legs, letting out a low howl before it fell forward and started stalking towards Seth who was stood frozen in front of him.

Its lips were pulled back and it was snarling at him, spit dripping from its jaws. He saw its eyes glowing amber as it stared at them, its pupils dilated.

' _ **Sam, Sam what is that thing?!'**_

He could hear the three of them asking him the same question he was trying to figure out.

' _ **I don't know, Collin, Brady stay behind Seth and I. Seth don't move, I don't want this thing to chase us.'**_

Sam watched warily as it stalked closer, when it was just in front of Seth it reared up on its hind legs again, its paw poised to swipe at the teenaged wolf. He was getting ready to pounce to protect his pack member when a black blur shot out of the trees and tackled the beast from the side.

Sam couldn't believe what he was seeing, a black wolf almost the size of them, was fighting this thing. He winced when the thing swiped its claws across the wolfs side, he was amazed when the wolf didn't stop fighting. The wolf finally got the upper hand, grabbing the beast by the neck and throwing it across the cleari **n** g. His eyes widened as the black wolf planted itself straight between them and the beast, he watched as blood dripped to the grass below it, from its side and from its snout.

Suddenly another figure showed up behind the beast and grabbed its tail, Sam looked at the newcomer, it was a huge shaggy dog, it was smaller than the wolf but much bigger than any other dog he'd ever seen. He couldn't believe when the beast's eyes dimmed, the snarl was gone and it shook its head. The thing then loped off into the woods, the dog following close behind. He watched as the wolf in front of them sagged and let out a whimper as it turned to look at them. His eyes widened when he realized the wolf was a female, he was too caught up in the beast to even notice before. His entire world shifted in that moment; he knew he would do anything for the wolf standing in front of him. His eyes raked over her taking in her inky fur, he marveled how it was black with blue, purple, and green undertones. It looked like an oil spill, her eyes glowed and he realized they were a striking blue. He shook his head and took a step towards her before she let out a growl. He felt his ears flatten against his head and his tail tucked under him a bit, he didn't want to scare her but fuck he had just imprinted on a wolf. A fucking wolf, he didn't know that was possible.

He let out a strangled whine when she turned and bolted back into the woods. He sat back on his haunches and just stared at the spot she had been.

' _ **Did, did you just imprint on a fucking wolf man?!'**_

' _ **I have no clue'**_

* * *

Hermione had fallen asleep curled up next to Moony and Padfoot, she knew Remus would feel awful the moment he transformed and saw her wound. She couldn't heal it herself without it scarring, so she'd just have to wait for Sirius to do it. A shuffling sound from behind her woke her from her slumber, she got up as quick as she could without aggravating her wound, she turned to see Remus thrashing behind her. A sad look came over her face as she trotted over and grabbed the supplies letting them dangle from her jaws. She sat down and waiting for the screams to start, it didn't take long, the first rays of sunlight went over the horizon and he started whining and howling which soon turned to screams and moans. Once he was halfway through, she shifted back and grabbed the blanket placing it over his convulsing body, she dug in the bag and pulled out a pain relief potion, a blood replenisher, and a general healing potion that Draco had invented that helped keep wounds from scarring. It didn't work with "dark creature" wounds such as the scratch she had sustained but it should work on the bite marks and scratches she left on him.

Once he was fully transformed, she made him drink the potions before digging out the cream they used to heal his wounds. It was a mixture of dittany and essence of murtlap, it also had some anti-inflammatory herbs to keep the swelling down while the wounds healed, she slathered it over the wounds she had caused and any other smaller scratches she found. The skin smoked as the dittany worked to knit the skin back together, she felt horrible when Remus whimpered as the cream worked. When she was done with the cream, she magicked his clothes back onto him and helped Sirius stand him up.

"Up you get Moony old boy, I'm going to take you home and put you to bed okay? Then when you wake up this afternoon, we will have a big lunch and get you some energy back, see you in a few Kitten"

With that Remus and Sirius disappeared with a low crack and Hermione was left picking up the blanket and potions vials, she tucked them all back into the bag before apparating into her room in the house. She knew Harry had woken early to drop the wards so they could get back in but she also knew he'd have gone straight back to bed, so she quickly hopped in the shower, she felt disgusting. She let out a hiss when the water hit her side, she had forgotten to have Sirius heal it before he left. She rinsed quickly and dried herself magically before waving her hand and having her hair braid itself. With another wave of her wand she summoned a pain potion, swallowing it quickly before bandaging her side, hoping it would hold till she woke up later, she didn't want to use any healing potions or magic for fear it would scar.

Digging through her dresser she pulled out a pair of dusty rose-colored silk sleep shorts with black lace around the legs and a matching tank top, pulling them on she quickly crawled into bed. She waved her hand at the windows causing the curtains to snap shut effectively blocking out every bit of sunlight that was trying to seep in, that had been another invention of hers, the curtains were embroidered on the bottoms with a set of runes that snuffed out light, they only worked when the curtains were closed and their respective runes overlapped. Moony had been more than grateful for this idea, the sunlight being a horrible thing the day after the full moon. With another wave of her hand she coated the room in a silencing spell so she couldn't hear anything outside, she finally reached over and flicked on her fan before snuggling into her pillows and falling into a very restful and much needed sleep, her mind wrapped up with a certain giant black wolf.


	19. Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

_**First off I want to apologize for the shortness of this chapter and the length of time between updates.**_

 _ **My mom is finally home from the hospital for the 2nd time, (only 15 days this time as opposed to the 44 before!) after a near fatal car accident and my dad is fully healed from his extreme burns.**_

 _ **I hope this chapter holds you all over until I can get the next one up for you all!**_

 _ **Please read, enjoy and review or message me! I love hearing all your input!**_

 _ **Beta love to Starkiss666 as always**_

 _ **Thank you all so much for the reviews I've** **received** **so far! It makes my day when you leave them!**_

* * *

Hermione woke with a start, having rolled over onto the wound on her side, she winced and sat up and waved her hand at the curtains causing them to spring open. Sighing she climbed out of bed before noticing the blood staining the sleep top she was wearing. She let out a hiss of annoyance and quickly released the silencing spell she had up and stomped across the hall to Sirius's room. Flinging open his door she found him passed out cold, one arm and his head kind of draped off the side of the bed, his feet dangling off the other side. She would've been amused but she hurt too bad to care. Moving his wand out of reach she tried to wake him.

"Papa" she gently shook him, noticing a slight change in his breathing before it evened back out and he let out a snore, she snarled quietly before shoving him harder. "Papa! Wake up!"

She moved as quickly as her side would allow before he jumped out of bed his eyes wild and his hand searching for his wand before he came to realize who is was that woke him. His blurry eyes focused on her and she watched the way his nostrils flared and everything about him seemed to sharped.

"Kitten? Why do you smell like blood?" He was in front of her faster than she could blink it seemed, he quickly got the lights on and looked her over. He frowned when he noticed the blood oozing into her shirt causing it to stick to her side, kneeling down he tried to pull the shirt away only to have her hiss a bit. He glanced up at her and saw she was biting her lip and watching his every move. He sighed and summoned his wand, a quick diffindo her shirt had a clean cut from bottom the just under her armpit, keeping her covered but letting him get to the wounded area.

"Nice bandage job Kitten, but why didn't you have me heal it this morning?" He quickly cut the bandage away from the area and let out a whistle at how deep the scratches were.

Hermione shrugged, "I was so tired and I felt disgusting so I went straight to my room, I didn't even think about the scratch till I was in the shower and the water hit it. By that time all I wanted to do was sleep so I left it for you."

"Okay, we need to get this patched up before Moony sees, he'll be beside himself if he sees this mess."

Sirius went to work, casting the various healing charms that he knew would help it heal with the most minor of scarring, he watched as the muscle stretched and pulled itself back together, the skin doing the same but leaving a still nasty looking skin deep scratch, once he was done with that, he summoned a blood replenisher and the cream she had used on Remus earlier that morning. He handed the potion vial to her watching as she downed it and grimaced at the taste before he started slathering the cream on casing the last of the skin to knit together and the redness to go away. Once he was satisfied there was only faint white lines instead of the massive scars she could've had, he mended her shirt and stood up.

"Well Kitten, you have a few scars but they're not too noticeable and they're a lot better than they would have been had you tried to heal them yourself. Shall we go downstairs and get some food prepared?"

Hermione bit her lip, "I'm going to go change and then I'll meet you downstairs"

With that she wandered back to her room and quickly stripped out of her pjs and pulled out a green satin strapless bra and matching underwear before slipping them on and finding a pair of dark wash, distressed jean shorts and a white v-neck t-shirt with black stripes that hung off one shoulder. Throwing them on she tucked on side of the shirt into her waistband before finding a pair of strappy black gladiator sandals and sliding her feet into them. Her hair was still braided back so she just left it like that. She quickly brushed her teeth and threw on a bit of eyeliner and mascara before putting on a peach lip-stain. Deciding this was the best she was going to get she grabbed her wand and headed downstairs, content to spend the next few days with her pack.

* * *

Sam had been in a funk the last few days, since seeing that thing come after his pack and imprinting on a wolf and not being able to find said wolf again was really setting him on edge. He'd been snapping at everyone in the pack and had shifted out of anger more than once, he hadn't done that since his first week as a wolf. At the moment he was in his office pacing back and forth in front of his desk. He had been working on the huge order that Hermione girl had put in a while ago. He knew he should be further along in the carving than he was but dammit he couldn't get her out of his head. He heard the whispers of the pack, he knew there were all on high alert, walking on eggshells around him. He needed to find her; his inner wolf wouldn't let him calm down until he did.

With a growl he stormed out of the shop leaving the boys there to watch it, he did the same thing he'd done every day and night since imprinting on that damned wolf. Shifting forms, he tore through the trees until he came to the clearing where that thing had found them. He couldn't give up finding her, he got to the clearing and bolted through the trees the way her inky form had gone. There was no scent trail, just as there hadn't been the last few days, if the rest of them hadn't seen her and the fact that he imprinted on her, he would have thought it was a dream.

He came to a stop at the edge of his land, throwing his head back he let out a howl of annoyance. Growling when no one answered he turned to head back to the shop when a noise caught his attention. His head snapped back around, his ears twitching every time another twig broke. He slowly turned his body to face the way the noise was coming from, muscles tense and ready to fight whatever was hunting him. Suddenly a small figure came into view from around the tree, he heard sniffling and he saw a young boy, not much older than two walking around, his hand in a fist, rubbing his eye, nose red and snotty from crying. What really caught his attention was the dark blue of his hair, it could be mistaken for black, his eyes widened when he saw it shift from the dark blue to a deep red and back again.

A tiny voice came out of the toddler, "Mina? Daddy? Pafoo?" when no one answered his calls he started crying harder. Sam didn't know what to do, if he moved, he might spook the kid but he didn't have any clothes to change into if he shifted. Making a decision he lowered himself to his belly and started crawling towards the boy, stopping about 20 feet away from him he waited for the tike to realize he was there.

The boy's eyes finally landed on him and instead of being scared like a normal kid faced with a wolf the size of a horse he smiled and reached out towards him. "Mina!" The boy scrambled towards the hulking wolf before stopping mere feet from him. He whimpered, "Not Mina" and started backing away from him again.

Sam whined and crawled a bit closer to the boy, trying his hardest to appear as docile as possible. He could have sworn the boy's nostrils flared and his head cocked to the side after he whined. The kid didn't move from his spot as Sam inched closer and closer on his belly, finally he was within touching distance and he put his cold nose in the boy's hand. The little fingers flexed a bit before the hand moved up his snout and buried itself in the fur above his eyes. Suddenly he had a face full of crying toddler sobbing into his fur. He nuzzled the boy and herded him closer and nudged him up onto his back, once he felt the boys fingers grabbing the thick fur by his spine he sniffed and found a scent trail heading across the treaty line. He hesitated and decided it would be better to get the kid out of the woods and ask for forgiveness from the leeches than sit there.

Taking off at a trot he couldn't help but mentally smile at the sounds of the kid giggling on his back, it was much better than the heart wrenching sobs he had been doing.

'Sam? Why are you crossing the treaty line? Also, why do you have Hermione's godson on your back?'

Sam's steps faltered when he heard Jared's voice in his head.

'Hermione's godson? So, this is Leah's imprints son?'

Suddenly he heard Leah's voice

'Yea, you know where you're going. That huge, old house that borders the treaty line, remember i told you someone bought it? Head for that and I'm sure you'll find them looking for him. You should be able to stay on our side of the line to get there too. Little guy must have wandered off, I'm not far I'll meet you there.'

Sam huffed an agreement before he backtracked to his side of the treaty line and he started to the house Leah was talking about, he still couldn't believe someone had been able to afford that place. He had made it quite far and could see the house through the trees when he heard a delicate voice shouting from within the tree line. He froze, his blood felt like it was on fire when he heard that voice holler out again, this time followed by a deeper voice shouting it's reply. He felt the toddler squirming on his back and jumped a bit when Leah suddenly appeared beside him.

 **'How do you want to do this?'** She turned her big head and looked up at him.

 **'I guess I'll just make my way over to them?'** For the first time in his life he didn't sound like the confident alpha he was.

Leah nudged his flank with her nose, **'I'll come with you, I'm sure nothing will happen.'**

With that she started off towards the voices, her ears perking when she picked up the deep rumbling tones that she instinctively knew was her imprint. Her steps faltered but never stopped as she pushed on towards them again. This time coming through the trees and face to face with the one person she couldn't get out of her mind. Her mouth ran dry as she saw him up close and personal, the scars that littered his face did nothing to hide his handsomeness, even now as his face was lined with worry, she could clearly see how attractive he was. She watched him with alert brown eyes as he froze staring at her with his mouth slightly agape. She snorted softly when he shook his head as if to clear it.

"You."

That was the only word he uttered before his hand snaked out to run from her nose up her snout to the top of her head. She could have purred at the warmth that spread through her at the touch before it was suddenly ripped away when a cry of "Teddy!" reached their ears. His head snapped to the side where he saw Harry racing to save his son who was perched quite happily on the back of a huge black wolf.

"Harry stop!"

She could see the conflict in the bright green eyes of the man racing towards Sam, but he did as the curly haired girl coming from behind the trees told him.

"Mione" The grown man all but whined, "He's on the back of a huge, strange wolf and you're going to stop me from getting to him?"

Hermione crossed her arms and started tapping her foot on the ground.

"Obviously Teddy is in no danger with these two protecting him, I'm sure if they wanted to eat him, they would have by now."

Sam couldn't breathe, the girl in front of him was beautiful, big blue green eyes framed by long dark lashes, her long black hair cascaded down her back reaching mid waist. She was tiny, coming up to just over his stomach, he couldn't help but marvel at her and the way she sauntered towards him, completely confident that he wouldn't hurt her despite his huge size. She stopped right in front of him and placed her hands on her hips.

"Down please, I'd like my godson back."

Sam didn't hesitate before dropping, his belly flat on the ground. She reached up and pulled the laughing toddler off his back.

"Mina!" The little boy squealed.

"Teddy-bear you are in so much trouble when we get home."

He saw the way the boy's eyes widened in shock. The toddler started struggling to get out of her tight grip as she marched over to his father and plopped the boy in his arms. The boy looked up at his father with a hopeful, yet innocent looking expression on his face which quickly morphed into a frown at the look his dad was giving him.

"Yes Teddy, you're in trouble for this little stunt. That was quite the tantrum you threw and then wandering off into the woods."

All the human adults shared a glance knowing full well the boy hadn't meant to wander off but had actually apparated with a huge burst of accidental magic.

 _ ***Flashback***_

They had been in the middle of telling Harry and Luna goodbye when the toddler started his fit, he didn't want his godfather to leave and he was going to do everything in his power to make him stay. The boy had stormed down the stairs after the pair of them screeching the entire way, but he mis-stepped on the second to last stair and started to fall. Harry, with his still honed seeker abilities spun at the sound of his yip and reached to catch him only for the boy to disappear with a crack.

None of the adults moved for a moment before panic set in, the only one calm and collected was Luna who had strolled up to Hermione and grabbed her elbow. Clasped in her other hand was the bead with the rune Fate on it, Hermione had raised her brows as the blond quickly plaited a small section of hair below her left ear and fastened the bead around it. She had set both her hands-on Hermione's shoulders and stared into her eyes with a distant expression. "I told you, you'd need the bead of fate." With that they headed out with a point me spell to find Teddy.

 _ ***End Flashback***_

Sam couldn't take his eyes off the woman in front of him, how could he be imprinted to this beautiful creature and the wolf he met? There's never been a case of more than one imprint happening, his mind was whirling.

 **'There's also never been a case of a female wolf, let alone a female wolf that imprinted, but it happened in our pack so why would this sort of thing surprise you?'**

Leah's voice cut through his like a knife, he let out a breath he hadn't realized that he was holding and shook his head. She was right, not that he'd ever admit it to her willingly. He looked over at the female wolf and saw she was watching her own imprint with longing in her eyes.

Glancing around he noticed that another man and woman had joined the group, bringing the total up to three men and two women, plus the boy named Teddy. His imprint glanced at him before she slowly walked over and met his eyes.

"Thank you for protecting him, I don't know how long it would've taken us to find him if you guys hadn't brought him back."

He couldn't help the way his chest puffed out and he stood a bit taller at her words, he heard Leah and the other boys snort in his head.

 **'So, that's why we were all so comfortable around Hermione, she's your imprint, but what about the other wolf?'**

He heard Paul's voice and he couldn't help but wonder the same thing, what would happen when he found his wolf. Shaking his head, he focused back in on the present conversation around him, he had to turn around when he felt someone's stare boring into him. He was startled, unnerved at the intense look the fairy like blonde was giving him, it's like she was staring straight into his soul. He took a couple steps back as she approached him, her hand reaching out a hand and placing it just above his nose, she leaned forward and pressed her forehead to his snout as his eyes closed on instinct.

He felt her hand move to cup the bottom of his jaw before she leaned back and forced him to stare into her eyes, "You'll be great for her Sam Uley, I know you will be." She left him with a pat to the side of his face and feeling even more confused than he was before.


	20. Dancing With the Devil

_**Hello everyone! First I want to thank you all for the well wishes for my family!**_

 _ **Next a had a guest reviewer**_ Kushka _ **that stated the story is marked as complete. I cannot find where it says that and I even had my Beta get on and look for it, so I don't know what to tell you. The story is very much incomplete.**_

 _ **As always constructive** **criticism** **is welcome, and please review!**_

 _ **Any characters you recognize belong to their rightful owners.**_

 _ **Beta love to Starkiss666**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

* * *

Hermione watched the interaction between the wolf and Luna with wonder in her eyes. She knew the female wolf watching Remus was Leah, she didn't know who this one was yet, it was obviously the same wolf from the clearing but she knew it wasn't Paul or Seth or even Jared. That left Jacob Black and Sam Uley that she knew of, granted there could always be more wolves. Watching him, she couldn't ignore the tugging feeling coming from within and her feet moved her towards him again. Like he could sense her coming his giant head slowly turned towards her, she got lost in his dark eyes, before she knew it, she was only a couple feet away from him. She suddenly stopped and stared, she wanted to get closer but didn't know if she should.

He must have sensed her hesitation before he closed the gap in about two steps, his face mere inches from her. He moved slowly, nuzzling his snout into her shoulder, she let her hands come up and she threaded her fingers into his thick fur. She buried her face into his neck, she felt her inner wolf just under her skin fighting to take control of her movements. She immediately reigned it in and pulled herself away from him, ignoring the pang in her gut at his low whine. She took a deep breath in familiarizing herself with his scent, that way if she smelled him again in his human form, she'd know exactly who it was.

"Thank you again, I don't know if you can understand me but I want you to know you're always welcome on our property. I hope to see you again." She was lying through her teeth when she told him she didn't know if he could understand her but she didn't need him to know what she knew. Without a second thought she turned and laced her arm through Sirius's and her other arm through Harry's pulling them with her. She chanced a glance back and saw they were both watching them leave, a small smile played on her lips before she followed Remus and Luna back to the house. Harry and Luna stayed a couple days longer to make sure Teddy was okay.

* * *

A few day's later Hermione was currently standing in front of her mirror frowning at her outfit. She had on a shin length, burgundy bodycon dress, it had an off the shoulder neckline with a ruffle that went across her chest and arms. The dress reached her shins but there was also a ruffle where it flared out once it reached below her knees. She had paired it with a pair of nude strappy sandals with a six inch stiletto heel and a matching clutch. She kept her jewelry simple, leaving her earrings in but changing the bottom stud to small white gold earrings that dangled and ended with a diamond on the end of them. She left her charm bracelet on, and added a white gold ring with a cushion cut garnet with two smaller cushion cut diamonds that flanking it, on her right ring finger. Her nails were longer and coffin shaped, painted a burgundy that matched her dress.

She wore a nude lipstick and had smoky eye makeup that made the blue green of her eyes pop. Her hair was left down to flow down her back, one side was held back with her clips from Remus. She frowned again running her hand down her stomach and around over her hips smoothing imaginary wrinkles in the fabric; she had been looking forward to this date for a while but after the meeting with the wolves after Teddy had disappeared, she couldn't shake the feeling that this date was wrong. Shaking her head, she glanced at her phone, 15 minutes until she was supposed to meet Kae at the restaurant in Seattle. She had opted to apparate there, saving herself time and the awkwardness of him driving down here to pick her up only to drive back. Bella huffed from her position on Hermione's bed.

"You look sexy as hell Hermione; I don't know what has you all bummed out but just go have fun for the night. Let loose!"

Hermione shot a glare at her cousin who just looked back with an impish grin on her face. Hermione let out a sigh and they headed downstairs; Sirius let out a low whistle when he saw her.

"Kitten you look gorgeous; this Kae fellow isn't going to know what hit him." Once the words left his mouth his face set in a glower.

"Are you sure you don't want one of us to take you there? You could introduce us to him." Remus smirked from next to Sirius his eyes flashing a bit.

Bella walked up behind them and smacked them both on the head.

"You will not be going just so you can intimidate him. Hemione is a big girl and she deserves to have some fun." She gave a wink to her cousin that made her snort.

"I'll be fine Papa, and as Bella said, I don't need you or Remus scaring Kae away before I actually get to know him. I'll be back by 2am at the latest. I have my bracelet in case something happens and you know I'm more than capable of taking care of myself. "

She patted her side where a "pocket" had been added to her dress, it was an illusioned pocket just big enough to hold her wand and it would keep people from seeing it in the form fitting dress but keeping it in an easily accessed place in case of emergency.

Glancing at the clock she sighed again, "Papa, can you or Remus please take Bella home, I don't have time to take her and get to Seattle, sorry Bells."

Her cousin just waved her off, her eyes focused on the toddler playing with blocks in front of her.

She nodded her thanks to them and told them goodbye, stooping to give Teddy a kiss before she stood up and turned on the spot, disappearing with a small pop. She reappeared in the apparition zone in Seattle's wizarding district, checking herself again for wrinkles she sauntered into the bookstore in front of her, heading to the muggle non-fiction section, something that made her roll her eyes, she ran her finger down the spine of a copy of A Brief History of Time, the book wiggled under her touch and jumped out of the way, causing other books to do the same and creating an archway for her to walk out of. The muggle side of the bookshop was another bookshop and the entrance led out in a more, risqué, part of the store. It was hidden behind a beaded curtain that had muggle repelling charms laced through the beads.

Once outside she pulled her phone out of her clutch and typed the name of the restaurant into Google, finding the address and seeing it was only a couple blocks away she started walking there, managing to get to the host stand with about 5 minutes to spare. She glanced around hoping to spot Kae but she didn't see anyone, he wasn't in the dining room or in the waiting area.

"Can I help you?" a bored voice drawled from behind the hostess stand, Hermione glanced at the maître d, the man reminded her eerily of Malfoy Sr. His long white blonde hair was pulled back and held by a green ribbon and he had a small smile on his face that didn't quite reach his eyes, his eyes were brown instead of the blue she was expecting to see.

She gave him a small smile, "Yes, I'm supposed to be meeting my date here but I can't seem to spot him. I believe the reservation will be under Kae Parkins."

The man's eyes positively lit up when she uttered his name, she'd seen that look before, anytime someone in England heard her papa's name, or Harry's, she tried to keep her scowl from forming as he scrambled to accommodate her in a much nicer fashion, "Oh yes, yes I have the reservation right here, Mr. Parkins requested our private dining room be prepared for your evening, please, follow me ma'am."

Glancing around to make sure no one was watching her she stuck her tongue out at the man's back. Merlin, she hated brown nosers with a passion, her nose scrunched up when she remembered she had been one of those people before Sirius had adopted her. Shaking herself out of that line of thinking she followed the tall man up to the second floor of the building and to a doorway, it had floor to ceiling glass doors that had extravagant gold and black thick curtains hung on the other side of the door, blocking the rest of the restaurants view of the room. He pulled to doors open with a flourish and bowed at the waist slightly gesturing for her to go in, once she stepped inside, he closed the door behind her and her eyes widened as she took in the room before her.

Kae was standing next to a table that was draped in black cloth, the plates and cutlery were gold plated and the cloth napkins were also gold in color, in the center of the table was a gold candelabra with black candles burning in it, it matched the golden sconces that ran around the room bathing it in a golden light. In the corner there was a string quartet playing music the floated softly through the room. Her eyes glanced over to the wall of windows leading to a balcony overlooking this part of the city, the sun had just started to set and was making the sky change colors. Letting her eyes settle on Kae she couldn't understand why she had been so nervous about this date. He was dressed in a black waistcoat and a black long sleeve button up shit underneath, he had on a tie that was black with emerald green and silver stripes going diagonally across it, she almost laughed out loud at his Slytherin color scheme but she pushed it back down knowing she didn't want to try to explain what that was.

His hair was combed up and away from his face showing off the short, shaved sides and back. His pants fit him just right, all she could think about is how she wanted to get a glimpse of his backside in those dress pants. She couldn't help the way she bit her lip as he started rolling his sleeves up to above his elbows as he walked towards her.

"Hermione, I'm so glad you accepted my offer for dinner. I admit I haven't been able to get you off my mind since we met." He grabbed her hand and barely ghosted a kiss on the knuckles making her shudder a bit. "May I say you're looking absolutely sensational tonight. That color does wonders for you."

She preened a bit as his appreciative gaze roamed down her body and back up to land on her face. Hooking her arm through his he led her to the table, where he proceeded to pull out her chair and help her scoot it forward. He walked around to the other side and sat down, she copied his movements of unfolding the napkin and placed it in her lap. Once she was settled, she made herself meet his eyes.

"I'm happy to have accepted the invitation, I have to say, I've been excited for this date since I agreed. This place is amazing, extravagant to the extreme but amazing none the less."

She watched him smile slowly at her and he made a motion to a waiter she hadn't noticed that had been standing in the corner. He hurried over and began explaining the wine choice, a pinot noir, Kae had picked to go along with the menu he had apparently created for them. A full five course meal he had decided on, starting with a fruit and cheese platter. Every time she picked up a piece of fruit, she could see the way his fingers would twitch as if he wanted to be the one to feed her.

After the appetizer was finished, they made small talk while the waiter cleared the table, her telling him the bare minimum about her job, stating she was a biologist, which while not the whole truth was as close as she could get to it. They proceeded to talk about her family, she noted that his eyes darkened anytime she mentioned living with Remus and Sirius but she shrugged it off. Before she knew it fifteen minutes had passed and the waiter had brought out the next course, her favorite, French onion soup. She let out a little gasp of delight when it was placed in front of her and blushed prettily when Kae huffed out a laugh.

Reaching across the table he brushed his fingertips over her hand, "Don't be embarrassed Hermione, I'm glad you've enjoyed my selection so far, please, sample the wine I've chosen for this course. It's a Zweigelt, from Austria. I'm partial to red wine if you haven't noticed."

He shot her an over exaggerated wink which sent her into a small fit of giggles, picking up her glass she took a sip and let out a hum of approval as the taste flew over her taste buds. The sound was not lost on the man sitting across from her and he let another slow smile cross his lips as he ate his soup. She followed suit eating the delicious soup and basking in its aroma, the flavour only accentuated by the wine. Conversation between them flowed easily and Hermione couldn't help but let her mind drift elsewhere. Now, she normally wasn't one of those women than hopped into bed on the first date, she wasn't a prude by far but she also had a plan when it came to sleeping with a man. Her first, contrary to Ronald's skewed beliefs that he was her one and only, despite her telling him multiple times otherwise, was Viktor, he had been sweet and gentle and took her on more than four dates before he even shared a kiss with her.

The next, surprisingly, had been Theo Nott during 6th year, they had an ongoing sexual relationship that was kept hidden from everyone else. Mainly due to their different houses and statuses but also for the fun it provided sneaking around and finding places to meet. One of Theo's favorite was a little reading nook in the restricted section of the library, no one else ever wandered in there and he took particular pleasure in sexualizing one of his and Hermione's favourite places.

She heard her name and snapped out of her memories, another blush staining her cheeks when she noticed his eyes focused on her.

"I'm so terribly sorry Kae, I missed that can you repeat it?" She reached forward and snagged her goblet of water and took a sip, hoping to quell the heat that had spread through her veins.

He smirked in such a way she couldn't help but wonder if he knew exactly where her mind had been.

"I simply asked if you were finished with your soup dear."

He took a sip of his water as she glanced down and noticed that she had only gotten through half of her soup and she felt her blush burn brighter.

"I'm sorry, I must have zoned out, I'm almost finished I promise."

She took a dainty bite of food trying to hurry but still be ladylike at the same time, something that she could see was amusing Kae. Finishing her soup quickly she took a sip of the wine and glanced at him again, he hadn't said anything the whole time she was eating, choosing instead to merely watch her.

Next was a salad, no wine was served with this course, opting to just have water. It was a nice salad, mixed greens tossed in some sort of vinaigrette. Once they were through with that they talked about their aspirations. She mentioned she was looking into teaching English at the high school in Forks. He told her that being a car salesman wasn't his dream but it paid the bills. She glanced around the room thinking he obviously had money but kept her mouth shut as to not offend her date.

He motioned to the waiter and had him clear the table, he stood and offered his hand to Hermione, "Shall we go on to the balcony for a breath of fresh air before the main entrée?"

She accepted his hand and allowed him to lead her out onto the stone balcony, it was a nice warm night and she couldn't help but bask in the glow of the city lights. Turning to Kae she gave him a smile.

"This evening has been lovely; it's been ages since I've had a good night like this!"

He gave her a smile in return, bringing her hand she hadn't realized he was still holding, up to his lips and she watched as he flipped it over and pressed a kiss to the inside of her wrist.

"The evening has only just begun my dear, I hope the rest follows in the same fashion." He reached up and fingered one of her loose curls, he glanced at her before letting it drop.

"Shall we head back inside? I believe they have the main course ready for us."

She allowed him to place his hand on her waist and lead her back into the room, she glanced back at the balcony before settling into her seat. The waiter lifted the golden dome off her plate and she watched the steam roll. Her mouth watered at the scent of the herb crusted lamb chop, there was also a serving of roasted asparagus with shaved radishes topped with an oil and vinegar dressing and finished with flaky sea salt, pepper and finely chopped mint.

Remus and Sirius hate lamb, she thought, she loved it but never got a chance to make it or have it unless it was a girl's night, which now that she'd moved hadn't happened. Hermione sliced a piece of meat and popped it in her mouth, she couldn't contain the slight moan that escaped at the perfectly flavored meat. It was delicious, she noticed instead of wine with the main course there was a tumbler with two fingers of scotch placed next to her plate. While she wasn't an overly huge fan of most liquor, she could acknowledge a good scotch or brandy once in a while. She tentatively took a sip, savouring the flavour. She noticed he seemed to be watching her with rapt attention as her tongue darted out to catch the small bit of scotch still on her lip.

"How are you finding the drink?" He took his own sip out of his glass after he asked her, she saw his pupils were blown wide as he watched her.

"I'm not usually one for liquor, especially with my meal but this scotch is amazing."

He smirked at her, "I would hope so it's The Macallan No. 6, my personal favourite, you should know."

While she wasn't a liquor drinker, Sirius was, she felt her eyes widen and she struggled not to choke on the bite of asparagus she had just taken. A single bottle of The Macallan No. 6 ran about 3500 pounds, roughly 4300 dollars. Quickly swallowing the bite, she gently dabbed the corners of her mouth, schooling her face into a more passive expression.

"Well, it is delicious and I thank you for sharing your favourites with me."

Conversation flowed freely throughout the course, it started taking a much more flirtatious vibe when dessert came around. Hermione had more than once leaned across the table to lightly grasp his forearm, letting her fingers dance gently on it. For now, they were holding hands on top of the table, their chairs having somehow gotten closer together. She barely registered it when a crystal dish with a healthy scoop of lime sorbet was placed in front of her. She did seem to realize that a similar dish wasn't placed in front of Kae, he however picked up her spoon and scooped a small bite of the dessert onto it before offering it to her.

Her eyebrows rose on her forehead but she indulged him by taking the proffered bite. Letting the sweet and tangy taste of the lime dish spread across her tongue. The rest of the bowl followed in a similar fashion; she didn't really know what to feel about being fed but she couldn't deny the intimacy it had created. She had just taken the last bite off the spoon when he kissed her, his tongue sweeping across her bottom lip before gaining the entrance he desired. She wondered if he could still taste the flavour on her tongue as they battled for dominance,

Suddenly he pulled away and helped her up out of her chair, "would you like to dance?"

She was confused at the sudden change; the kiss had been unexpected and left her mind foggy. She allowed him to spin her onto the dance floor, not really following any proper steps, more just swaying to the music, she felt the way his body shifted as he leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"I don't wish to be forward but I just want to rip that dress off of you and take you right here on the dance floor, I've been thinking about it all night."

Hermione shuddered at the feel of his breath against her ear, she couldn't stop the flush that started at her chest and was rising with every word he spoke; she wasn't about to deny her attraction to the man. She felt him pull her closer as the music slowed, she wrapped both arms around his neck and swayed. Pulling slightly away she leaned up and pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth, "I think I'd like to see where you live."

He quickly made a motion to the waiter that had yet to leave the room, as he them towards the door.

"I'll have the valet bring your car around Mr. Parkins."

With that the waiter swept out of the room, Hermione glanced around only to realize that the band had up and left within the last few minutes too. Suddenly she found herself pressed against the wall and her mouth once again being dominated by his. She felt the all too familiar feeling stirring inside as his hands settled on her hips tugging her closer to him.

He pulled away resting his forehead against hers, "We should get downstairs, I'm sure the valet has my car ready."

With that he tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow and the started towards the front of the restaurant. Ignoring the looks they were getting from the other patrons they walked outside, she felt her jaw drop slightly at the beauty that was his car. A sleek gunmetal grey Aston Martin Vanquish was idling in front of her, having assumed Kae had money from the extravagant dinner this shouldn't have surprised her. He had moved his arm around her to help guide her into the open passenger seat before he gently closed the door behind her and walked to the driver's side.

As she buckled in, he took off, speeding through the streets of downtown Seattle, she watched as buildings flew by. His hand had not strayed from its perch high on her thigh, his thumb was rubbing lazily back and forth and almost driving her crazy. After what felt like forever, they pulled into an underground parking garage in an apartment complex. Kae parked the car and got out, motioning for Hermione to stay put so he could open the door for her, she quickly got out her phone and checked the time, 10:30, she sent a group text to Remus, Sirius and Bella to let them know where she was and then put her phone back in her clutch just before he opened her door and helped her out.

She glanced around the garage and noticed a multitude of fancy cars parked there, he led her towards the elevator and there was a man sitting behind a small desk just next to it. Kae handed him the keys to his car and the man nodded and locked them in a box hung on the wall behind him, they continued to the elevator and once they were in, he pressed a button marked PH. The second the doors shut he had her pressed into the wall of the elevator, his mouth pressed firmly against hers, his tongue trying to force its way inside making her gasp. One of his hands held the back of her neck and the other was trailing up and down her side before it stilled on her arse. His hand squeezed and used that to press her closer to him as he deepened the kiss. They were startled out of their stupor by the small chime alerting them to the fact they had reached their floor.

Pulling away they walked into a short hallway that only hand one door on the far wall. He typed a code into the door and she hear the click of the lock before he swung it open and motioned for her to enter. She let her eyes sweep over everything, from the floor to ceiling windows the made up the far wall, the loft that ran the course of the room, one side of the loft was all book cases, she could see a rolling ladder perched against one of them. She didn't get to see much more before she was being drug through the apartment. He pulled her behind him to a metal spiral staircase, as they went up, she couldn't help but be in awe of the sitting area it led to.

They were by the full wall of books and in the middle of that wall was a huge fireplace with a nice sitting area in front of it. The chairs looked so comfortable, she longed to pick a book and curl up on one of them. Straight across from the reading wall on the other side of the loft was a door which she could only presume lead to the bedroom, that seemed to be where he was leading her.

When they reached the door he stopped, "Are you absolutely sure you want to do this?"

Hermione froze for a second, she hadn't second guessed her actions all evening and when she met his eyes, she nodded her head before grabbing him and pulling him in for another searing kiss.

"I hope that answers your question."

She didn't miss the way his pupils dilated and the green of his eyes seemed to darken with lust, she shot him a smirk as she gave his tie a little tug. He threw the door open and she walked in, taking in the huge four poster bed against the far wall, the fireplace across from that with a giant tv mounted above it, this room also had floor to ceiling windows with a door in the far corner that led to a balcony. The door slammed making her jump and she was spun to face him, his hands were immediately in her hair tugging her closer before moving them backwards further into the room. She ran her hands over his shoulders and down his torso before she started untucking his shirt. She reached up and loosened his tie, breaking away long enough for him to pull it off completely, she continued on unbuttoning his shirt starting at the bottom.

Once they were done, she peeled the shirt off him, breaking the kiss to get a good look at him. His pale skin seemed to glow in the moonlight that streamed in through the windows. She bit her lip as she drank in his lean muscular frame, she trailed her fingers down the light dusting of hair that trailed into his pants, grinning when he shivered. There was an almost feral look in his eye as he stepped closer to her, one that made her take a step back. She hadn't realized how close to the windows they'd gotten until her back touched the cool glass making her gasp.

He placed his hands on either side of her and leaned down with a smirk, his mouth brushed her ear as he spoke, "You're mine now."


	21. All We Need is Blood

**_WARNING: MATURE CONTENT AHEAD_**

 ** _IF YOU DON'T WISH TO READ IT GET TO THE ~~HGSU~~_**

 ** _THIS IS ALSO MY FIRST EVER "ADULT" SCENE, SO PLEASE BE EASY ON ME HAHA_**

 ** _As always, Beta love to starkiss666_**

 ** _Constructive criticsm is welcome_**

 ** _Thank you all for the great reviews and the thoughts to my family. Also, thank you for being patient with the uploads!_**

 ** _Please enjoy_**

* * *

With that he spun her around so quick, she had to brace herself on the window so she wouldn't fall, she felt the zipper on the back of her dress start lowering. She couldn't help the whimper that left her throat as she felt his lips following the zipper down, she shrugged the material off her arms when he tugged on them.

"No bra tonight? Naughty girl."

She heard him mumble as he placed a hot, open mouthed kiss right where her shoulder met her neck. He continued pulling the zipper down at a torturous pace, she heard him lower himself to his knees as he tugged the tight material over her shapely arse. The fabric was pooled around her feet leaving her in just her heels and thong, she felt his hands ghost over her hips, suddenly he nipped her butt cheek making her yelp before he soothed it with his tongue. He made her turn around so her back was pressed against the window again, he helped her step out of the dress before tossing it aside. She went to take her heels off but he stopped her.

"Leave them on."

She shuddered at the authority in those three words and did as she was told, reaching out he ran a finger up her slit over her panties. She groaned at the minimal contact he had made with her clit; he watched her tip her head back to lean it against the window.

"Already so wet, and we've barely begun Hermione."

He repeated his actions, this time using a bit more pressure as he circled her little bundle of nerves twice, this caused her to buck her hips a bit. Suddenly she felt his hand grip the front of her thong and tug, she heard rather than felt the material rip as he tore it from her body. She had opened her mouth to berate him but only managed a squeak when he dipped his head and ran his tongue over her, pausing to circle her nub. He looked up at her and she felt a rush of power, to have a man of his stature kneeling before her was such a turn on. She felt a finger circle her entrance as he sucked her clit into his mouth, suckling on it before he nibbled on it a bit causing her to squirm.

He hooked his arm under one of her thighs and threw her leg over his shoulder, opening her up for him. He dipped his finger into her and started pumping slowly.

"I can't wait to have this pretty little pussy wrapped around my cock."

Her eyes darkened as the vulgar words met her ears, and she moaned wantonly. His eyes were focused on her gleaming hairless lips, he added a second finger causing her to moan lowly as he started pumping faster and curling them to reach that certain spot. He latched onto her clit and gave it a hard suck, using his other hand to keep her bucking hips still, all she wanted was to grind her pussy into his face. He slowly worked in a third finger, inwardly groaning at how tight she was, obviously she wasn't a virgin but he was glad for that, he didn't have to be too nice. Minutes passed and he felt her body begin to shake, her pussy clenching and unclenching around his fingers. He nipped her clit again just as he tweaked one of her nipples and sent her over the edge, he hadn't been expecting the rush of liquid that poured out of her as she panted through her climax, but he wasn't disappointed.

He let her leg down off his shoulder and noticed she was a bit wobbly, he stood and picked her up, letting her wrap her legs around his waist, he could feel her squirming as his bulge pressed against her core. He kissed her then and she moaned at the taste of herself on his tongue. Walking to the bed he tossed her down, causing her to giggle as she bounced. She stretched her arms out and laid there watching him, her long ebony locks surrounded her like a dark halo, a stark contrast to his crisp white sheets.

Hermione watched with wide eyes as he unbuckled his belt, her tongue darted out to wet her suddenly dry lips as he let his dress pants fall to the floor. She could clearly see the outline of his cock pressed against his emerald green boxer briefs. She couldn't stop the laughter that bubbled up at the color of his underwear, she noticed the frown on his face and sat up trying to sober up.

"I'm not laughing at you, I assure you, it's very impressive. I'm laughing at the fact that your underwear matched your tie and they both matched your eyes, was that intentional?"

He glanced down his eyes wide, "I didn't even notice in all honesty, but since they're making you laugh and that is NOT a sound I wanted to hear from you while you're naked in my bed, I should just get rid of them."

With that he pulled them down and stepped out of them, Hermione let her eyes roam from his eyes, down his chiseled torso and finally landing on his exposed appendage. She wet her lips again before she motioned for him to join her on the bed.

He did exactly that lying back to lean against the headboard, his hands wrapped behind his head. She flipped over and crawled up between his legs, she wrapped a hand around his cock, she always marveled at how something so hard could feel so velvety soft. She dipped her head and gave a broad lick from the base of his cock to the tip, letting her tongue dip into his slit just a bit. She smirked at the groan he let out before she sucked the head into her mouth. Not going much lower than the tip she wrapped her hand around the base and pumped slowly, as she picked up speed she started taking more into her mouth until she couldn't take anymore. She hollowed her cheeks and set a steady rhythm, running her tongue along the underside as she did. She pulled off and ran her tongue down his shaft before sucking one of his balls into her mouth, this caused him to gasp which made her want to laugh again but she refrained, she replaced her mouth with her other hand cupping and rubbing them as she took him into her mouth again sucking with a steady speed she felt his legs tense before his hands wrapped in her hair and pulled her off him.

"If you continue that we won't get anything else done."

He suddenly flipped them over so she was pinned under him and he started grinding into her, the blunt head of his cock nudging her clit just right so to make her squirm. He lifted up on his elbows before he grabbed both her wrists in one hand, pinning them above her head. Bracing himself with that hand he used the other to line himself up with her dripping core. He glanced down at her and took note of her half-lidded eyes and the way she was moving her hips to try and get him inside. He slowly pressed the head in stifling a moan at just how good she felt, he pumped just the head in and out teasing her a bit until she whimpered and he snapped his hips forward sheathing his entire length in her.

Hermione let out a yelp of pained pleasure as he thrust into her, she felt him still letting her adjust a bit, when she started shifting her hips he didn't hold back. He started thrusting at a brutal pace, pounding her deep into the mattress. He let go of her wrists to pull one of her legs over his shoulder, letting him get deeper and hit her at new angles. She was panting and moaning as he continued his quick pace, her hips moving to try and match his thrusts. Now that her hands were free, she used one to keep her from hitting the headboard and the other was digging into his shoulders, she knew she was going to leave marks but she didn't care.

One of his hands came up and cupped her breast, running the pad of his thumb over her taut nipple, he pinched it gently before he let go. Stopping his thrusts, he moved her other leg to his shoulder, grabbing a pillow that was near her head he lifted her hips and laid her on it to keep them elevated. He started moving again, groaning at the sight of her tits bouncing, one of his hands alternated between her nipples and the other found her clit pinching and rubbing it. He needed her to cum, he knew he wasn't going to last much longer with how good she felt.

"Are you going to cum for me pet?"

Hermione couldn't hold back the moans that were escaping as his fingers pinched and roller her nub, he was hitting a spot inside her that was making her see stars. She reached down and slapped his hand away and replaced his fingers with her own, playing with herself in the way she knew would get her there. She didn't notice the anger that flashed through his eyes when she did that before being replaced by the same lust filled look he'd been wearing the entire time. His now free hand ran up her body till he grabbed her neck, squeezing just enough for her to really feel it, he wouldn't be surprised if her pale skin was slightly bruised tomorrow. She let out a gasp as the pressure sent her over the edge, her eyes rolled back and she let out a low growl as she spasmed around his cock.

He matched her sound as he slammed into her a few more times before he came to the feeling of her walls fluttering around him. His hips jerked as he let the last of his cum out, he let her legs down and pulled out of her. He climbed off the bed and walked through a door Hermione hadn't noticed before. She laid there panting, trying to catch her breath as she came down from her orgasmic high. Kae exited the bathroom and tossed a towel at her.

 _ **~~~HGSU~~~HGSU~~~HGSU~~~**_

"Clean yourself up."

He walked over picking up her dress and tossed it on the bed, Hermione shook her head trying to clear the fog as she wiped the fluids from her legs.

"May I use your restroom to get dressed?"

He just motioned to the door and she rolled her eyes, grabbed her dress and headed to the bathroom. After she finished cleaning up, she cast a tempus and realized it was already midnight. She shimmied into her dress and stepped out of the bathroom.

"Can you please zip me back up?"

He didn't respond but instead stalked closer to her, he reached and zipped the dress up in a snap, placing a kiss at the juncture of her neck and shoulders. She moved away from him and found her clutch she had discarded when they came in, she picked it up and pulled out her phone.

"Do you need a ride?"

She shook her head, "No, I'll catch a taxi and head back to my car. You needn't bother."

She couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, she had enjoyed herself, physically that is, but mentally, she regretted this entire evening. This wasn't how it was supposed to go, she didn't just jump in bed with a man on the first date. As the evening wore on it was like a mist had settled in her brain. She wondered idly if it was the alcohol that had made her react the way she had, or if there was something else. Shaking her head again she wandered towards the door.

"Well, it was a lovely evening Kae, I hope to hear from you soon."

Without waiting for a reply, she left the room shutting the door behind her and moving quickly to the stairs, all but running to get out of the penthouse apartment. She made it to the elevator before she broke down, her chest had constricted and it was difficult to breathe. Somewhere in the back of her mind she realized she was having a panic attack, something she thought she had left behind after the war. She concentrated on grounding herself, counting the tiles on the floor of the elevator, then the number of buttons, she regulated her breathing in through her nose for four seconds, hold for seven, release through her mouth for eight. It was a technique her mind healer had instructed her on when she was having many of these attacks a day immediately after the war. By the time the elevator dinged on arrival of the first floor she felt marginally better. She stood tall and straightened her back, squaring her shoulders she sauntered out of the elevator like the last couple minutes hadn't happened. She walked out into the night without so much as a glance over her shoulder.

* * *

Edward was having a bad day, his sisters were getting on his last nerve, he couldn't keep his mind off of Bella and to make matter worse he hadn't been able to sit in the tree outside her window at night to watch her because something was stopping him. Every time he tried to go there; he felt the same bit of spark that her cousin had shocked him with. It was driving him insane, so he decided to get out of town for the night. He drove to Seattle, not really having a destination in mind he found a parking garage and just stalked the streets. He had seen a movie, which admittedly helped calm him down a bit, he'd wandered into a small second hand bookstore and wound up walking out with an unreasonably priced first edition of Wuthering Heights, he doubted the hag running the shop even knew what a treasure this was. She had it laying in a box with many torn up, used books, he had gotten it for a measly $30, and that was only because she saw how interested he was. He was sure this book was worth well over $10,000 to the right buyer, but he had someone else in mind for it.

He had overheard Bella telling some of the other girls from school that her favorite book was Wuthering Heights. So, when he saw the book, he knew he had to get it for her. Glancing at the watch on his arm he noticed it was just after midnight, so without a thought he started back towards the garage he had parked in. As he meandered down the sidewalk ignoring the looks women and men alike were shooting him as they were compelled by his otherworldly looks, he couldn't help but whistle a tune. His evening away from home had proved to be exactly what he needed.

He had let his guard around his mind slip a bit, letting the wave of voices comfort him, drowning out anything else he may be thinking. He continued on in a blissful state until one voice stuck in his mind.

' _Filthy little mudblood whore, if we didn't need her I'd kill her where she stands.'_

The thought was in English but was accented, Russian if he wasn't mistaken, but that wasn't what caught his mind. He'd never heard the term mudblood before, but the way this man thought it made it obvious that it was a slur of some type. He glanced around looking for who was thinking these horrid thoughts. His eyes settled on a tall man with dark hair and a dark goatee trimmed close to his face. He knew it was him by the crazed look in his eyes, following his line of sight he was startled to realize he knew that head of hair. Keeping a good distance away he followed the man, following the girl. He knew she could take care of herself, as she had showed him before but he felt a strange attachment to the tiny woman walking ahead of him.

He swore in his head when she ducked down an alley, he watched as the dark man followed her mere seconds later. He debated what to do, he knew she'd probably skin him alive if he went in there with the intent to save her, but he just couldn't stop the need to make sure she wasn't hurt. Making up his mind he moved quickly towards the alley, he froze when he turned the corner. Hermione was standing over the man that had followed her and she had a stick pointed at him. He cocked his head to the side as he watched the man beneath her squirm, before pulling out a matching stick from his pocket, his eyes widened when a burst of yellow light shot out from the stick, it raced towards Hermione, he saw her swiftly flick her own stick and the light seemed to fizzle out centimeters from her face.

Edward couldn't seem to move as he watched them. He watched as the man shot his leg out, catching Hermione in the stomach and sending her flying a bit away from him. He scrambled up and pointed the stick at her again, this time a purple flame shot towards her, he heard the gasp coming from her before she rolled out of the way and got back to her feet. A red beam of light shooting from the tip of her stick, missing the man by a hair. She must not have expected another physical attack from the man because after another red beam came from her the man dove and slammed her into the brick wall. Her hand was smashed against it causing her to drop the stick, his forearm was pressing against her throat obviously making it hard for her to breathe.

It was like whatever at been holding him in place suddenly let go, and Edward felt himself moving towards them, his hand gripped the man by the upper arm and he literally tore him away from Hermione. He felt the way his arm dislocated and he could hear the muscles tear, but that didn't stop him from tossing the man into the wall behind him with a sickening crack. Hermione had slid down the wall and was currently staring up at him, he noted there was no fear in her eyes, only anger with a hint of thankfulness. Whether the anger was for him or not was yet to be seen.

"Well, I supposed I should thank you Edward, for stopping him, but I'll have you know I was handling it by myself just fine."

He couldn't stop the snort he let out, "Just fine by being pinned to the wall in a dark alley?"

He helped her stand up and watched as she fixed her dress before she looked around and picked up the stick she had dropped, she also picked up the one the man had dropped too.

"What are those sticks? How did they produce the lights I saw?"

He watched as her eyes widened and his own matched hers when she suddenly pointed the stick at him.

"I'm terribly sorry about this Edward, but I can't have your 'family' knowing what I am."

He didn't even have time to comprehend what she meant before his mind went blank, after what felt like a second, he blinked, looking around he frowned.

' _What am I doing in an alley in Seattle?'_

He felt a strange pain in the back of his head as he tried to remember what he had been doing moments before, shaking his head he made his way back to the garage where his car was parked, thinking about the weird blankness in his mind the entire time, one thing was for certain, he could smell the curly haired little she demon all over that alley and he just knew she had something to do with it.

* * *

Hermione had managed to disapparate from the alley to the apparation point in Seattle's wizarding alley. She had a disillusioned, bound and gagged Antonin Dolohov with her, she had cast a small levitation charm on his shoes so she could just pull him behind her without drawing attention to herself. Quickly finding a floo station she stepped into the grate making sure to keep a hand on him at all times, tossing down a handful of powder she spoke her destination clearly.

"Office of the Minister for Magic, London"

Seconds passed and she tumbled out of the fireplace in Kingsley's office, he looked up shocked by her sudden arrival.

"Hermione my dear what a pleasant surprise!"

He stood quickly to give the girl a hug, his huge frame dwarfing her.

"I wish I was here on better terms Kings, but I've just come to give you a present."

With that she cancelled the disillusionment on Dolohov and let him fall to the ground in front of Kingsley, she would have laughed at the look on his face if she wasn't so damn fed up with this night. Turning she wandered to the couch and sat down, the cushioning charm had worn off of her heels during the fight with Antonin, she kicked them off and rubbed her feet.

"He followed me, in muggle Seattle, caught me unguarded in an alley as I was making my way back to the wizarding world. One of the vegetarian vampires actually helped me when he got the upper hand, physically. I obliviated him but I don't think it will hold forever, his gift is a mental one and his natural defenses were hard to get through, but it'll work for now."

Her story shocked Kingsley out of his stupor, conjuring a patronus as he kept his eyes locked on Dolohov.

"Go to Sirius Black and tell him Hermione is here and he needs to floo over, if you can't get him go to Remus Lupin."

As that one shot off he cast a second one, "Go to Head Auror Zabini and tell him to come here immediately."

Hermione rolled her eyes, how Blaise Zabini had ever become head auror she'd never understand, the man was too charming for his own good. She could admit that she liked him, as a friend, but he had a way of getting under her skin that unsettled her.

Once that patronus was off Kingsley conjured one more, "Go to Harry Potter and tell him Hermione is in my office and that he needs to come here."

With that one off he sent a secondary incarcerous at the man still lying on the floor. He walked over to his wet bar and pulled out a glass, filling it with cool water from a quick aguamenti he brought it over to Hermione before settling on the couch next to her. They chatted idly for a few minutes before the floo roared to life and spat out not only Sirius, but Remus and Teddy too. The latter was asleep in his father's arms, Hermione sat her glass down and let Sirius check her over for injuries, noticing the bruising on her wrist and throat, and the swelling bump on the back of her head from when she hit the wall. Once he was satisfied that she wasn't really hurt he took Teddy from Remus and let Moony do his own investigation.

The werewolf's eyes were glowing as he took in her scent, checking over her to make sure his pup was fine. Sometime during that Harry and tumbled through the floor and took one look at the bound Dolohov before rushing over to give Hermione a hug.

Zabini had just opened to door to what could only be described as a mad house, now that Remus and Sirius had made sure she was ok, they were currently being held back by Harry and Kingsley from attacking the bound and gagged man on the floor. Hermione was watching with amusement as she cuddled Teddy close to her on the couch, she nodded at Blaise as he strolled into the room. With a flick on his wand both men were rooted to the spot and throwing glares at him.

"Sorry boys, I'd let you have him but I'm sure the lovely Miss Granger-Black would like me to question him. I'll also send another auror up to question you, if you can stay here for the next few minutes while I transport Mr. Dolohov to the holding cells."

With a flick of his wrist Dolohov was floating behind him and Blaise started towards the office door.

Hermione nodded, "Oh, Blaise?"

He stopped and faced the little witch, "I have his wand, and I do NOT want Ronald or Nott anywhere near me please and thank you."

He took the proffered wand and gave her a slight smirk, "You haven't been informed? Weasley's been sacked, permanently, not even his friendship with Kings here could save him."

"Not that I would've helped him anyway" Kingsley mumbled under his breath, making her huff out a laugh.

"Really? I hadn't heard, whatever for?" She couldn't keep the shit eating grin off her face at the thought of her ex being fired.

"Same thing he was always suspended for, fighting with other aurors, derogatory comments towards not only other aurors and staff but also witnesses and victims, but the last straw was when he refused to take a statement from a victim who had been tortured for being a blood traitor and told her she got what she deserved and if she didn't want to be tortured she shouldn't have been associating with those people in the first place."

Hermione couldn't stop the horrified gasp that fell from her lips, "He told her she deserved it?!"

Her voice had taken on the shrill quality that everyone in the room knew came before an outburst of her temper. If she hadn't had a sleeping Teddy by her she'd probably have been out of the room intent on finding her ex and hexing him six ways from Sunday. As it was, she was kept still and semi-quiet by the sleeping toddler.

"That foul little beast, I cannot believe he would say something like that."

Everyone could see the faraway look in her eye and the fingers on her right hand twitched before she brought them over to caress the hidden scar on her arm. Ronald had been the reason she'd gone to Malfoy to get rid of her scars in the first place, he couldn't stand to look at them, always told her they made him sick, so, she got the cure, the once a month for the rest of her life cream had made it virtually disappear, but now that she was no longer with him she couldn't find it in herself to hide the scars. She'd always worn them like a badge of honor, she had gone through hell in that war and she was damn proud of making out alive. Teddy shifted on the couch next to her, breaking her out of her memories. Harry had wandered over and sat next to her, tilting her chin up to look at the bruising on her neck.

"Zabini, could you get the auror in here to get the pictures and let her be healed?"

The man in question nodded and quickly strode out the door, hauling Dolohov behind him. A few moments passed and Susan Bone's entered, having followed in her aunt's footsteps and joined the DMLE, though she left the politics to her aunt. Her dark red hair was pulled back in a thick braid and she wore a small grin on her face as she entered.

"Hullo, Hermione, Harry." She nodded to them, "Professor Lupin, Black, Minister."

Remus chuckled, "Miss Bones I have not been your professor for many years, please, call me Remus."

The redhead blushed making Sirius chuckle under his breath. "And please, call me Sirius."

Susan's eyes narrowed, "I know you well enough Black, you should hear some of the stories my dear auntie Amelia has to say about you, not to mention the memories you've scarred me with."

Remus let out a laugh that he quickly tried to hid as a cough, Amelia had been a 3rd year Gryffindor when the Marauders came to the school. He couldn't count the times he and Lily had found her snogging Sirius on the astronomy tower in her final year, he knew Sirius and Amelia had taken to meeting up again during the war. Sirius just shot the girl a smile and plonked down on the couch next to Harry, who had taken Teddy from Hermione so she could be questioned, have her memories taken, pictures taken and be allowed to be healed.

After about an hour of Hermione being in a sound-proof bubble with Susan she was finally allowed to leave and get healed. Sirius insisted on taking her to St. Mungo's and when she argued Remus put his foot down and told her she was going. She pouted the entire way there and her mood only worsened when she saw the healer was Cormac. She had sent the men out of the room and allowed him to heal the bump on the back of her head and the many scratches down her back from where the wall had cut her. He gave her a bruise paste to apply 2x a day until they no longer hurt to touch. She also requested he draw a bit of her blood and check it for potions and muggle drugs. His eyebrows had rose far up his forehead but he did as she asked and agreed to have the results sent directly to her.

Once done she led her small army of boys to the floo and gave Harry a hug and kiss on the cheek, telling him to pass on her love to everyone, before she flooed home. She didn't wait for the others before she got to her room and took a long, hot shower and pulled on fuzzy black shorts and a black tank top and crawled into bed. She locked her door and set the silencing spell up with a wave of her hand, her drapes were closed blocking out any light that would disrupt her already fitful sleep.


	22. Right, Left, Wrong

**Here you go, the next chapter! I hope you all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it!**

 **As always, anything you recognize belongs to the original authors.**

 **Beta love to Starkiss666**

 **Constructive criticism is always welcome.**

 **Please review! It makes my day reading your reviews and I like to look back on them as I'm writing!**

* * *

It had been a week since her date and over a month since she'd moved to Forks, she'd gotten the results of her blood back the day after her surprise trip to St. Mungo's and was shocked to find no traces of any known potions or muggle drugs were in her system. She'd spent the last week digging through some of Remus's more unsavory potions books to see if there was something in there that wouldn't leave a trace, so far, she'd found nothing.

Hermione sighed and closed the 69th book she'd glossed over that week, reaching into the drawer of the desk she sat at she pulled out two pieces of parchment and a quill. She always felt so magical when she wrote with a quill even though it wasn't nearly as convenient as a pen. Quickly scribbling out her question and a short message on both pieces of parchment she went to the window and whistled. Watching closely, she saw a dark figure soaring towards her, she smiled when Nyx landed on her windowsill.

"Hey girl" She cooed, stroking the soft feathers on her owl's chest, "I have a couple of notes here, think you're up for a long journey?"

The owl blinked up at her and Hermione swore she glared, trying to convey that she was of course up for the journey and who did she think she was asking. With a laugh she tied the two rolls of parchment to her legs. "Ok, this one is for Draco Malfoy and the other is for Severus, please wait for a response from both of them unless they tell you to go ok?"

With a hoot and a head bob that looks suspiciously like a nod the owl took off. She closed the window once Nyx was nothing but a dot on the skyline and walked over to her closet. She was one of a handful people who knew that Severus had survived the war, when her and Harry had found him in the shrieking shack dying from Nagini's bite she hadn't hesitated in shoving a bezoar down his throat, much to Harry's dismay, and casting a stasis spell she'd learned from Fleur after her incident at Malfoy manor. It stabilized him enough that he survived till the end of the battle and he was rushed to St. Mungo's. All the healers who had helped rescue him had been obliviated except one, she was left with her memories in case Severus ever needed a healer. Once Harry had seen the memories Snape had given him right before he thought he was going to die, he did everything in his power to keep Snape's secret.

She had an interview at the high school today and she was very nervous about it. She ran her hands over the three different outfits she'd pulled out for the day, she wanted to convey that even though she was young she was the right candidate for the job. So she wanted professional, but she didn't want to look like she was trying too hard so she also wanted something casual. She sighed again and glanced at the watch she was wearing on her left arm, 7:13am, with London being eight hours ahead of her she figured Ginny would be off practice by now and she needed an expert opinion.

Wandering down to the fireplace she threw in a handful of floo powder, "The Burrow" she spoke clearly and then stuck her face in the flames. "Ginny? Are you home yet?"

She knew she was risking running into Ronald or Molly by calling the Burrow but she really needed to speak to Ginny.

"Hermione?" She was relieved when it was Mr. Weasley that had walked into the sitting room.

"Mr. Weasley! I was just calling to see if Ginny was home from practice yet?"

The man chuckled, "Hermione, you know to call me Arthur, nothing has changed between us, you're still my second daughter. Ginny is home as a matter of fact, I will go get her for you."

Hermione blushed at the slight reprimand Arthur had given her, she knew he felt that way but it was so hard to not resort back to how she spoke before her and Ronald really became friends. She jumped when she heard the shrill screech of Molly Weasley coming from the other room.

"You will NOT be speaking to that jumped up hussy Ginerva Molly Weasley! I forbid it!"

Hermione couldn't understand what Ginny replied but she knew it was probably some smart-ass remark to her mother. She sighed again; she didn't want to be the cause of a rift between them.

"Hermione! Open the floo!"

Her eyes widened as she saw Ginny racing towards the fireplace, she pulled her head out quickly and unwarded the floo allowing the ginger girl to come all the way through. Once Ginny tumbled out on to the rug in front of the fireplace, she quickly redid the wards making it so only select fireplaces could floo in.

"Hullo Hermione! What had you calling our lovely abode today?" Ginny grinned as she hoisted herself up, brushing the soot off her.

Hermione snorted, "Sorry if I made you get in a fight with your mum, I just needed help picking an interview outfit! I have three I decided on but I can't choose, plus, I haven't seen you since Andy's wedding and I miss you."

Ginny pulled her into a quick hug and then demanded a tour of the house. Once they got upstairs Ginny squealed at the closet and attached bathroom.

"This place is gorgeous Hermione! No wonder you moved!"

Hermione just shot her a smile and motioned to the three choices.

"I want something professional yet casual, something that shows just because I'm young doesn't mean I'm not right for the job, but I also don't want to come off as a snob."

Ginny nodded and motioned for her to stand by the outfits, Hermione watched as her eyes darted between her and the hangers before they sparked and she pulled one outfit off the rack.

"This is the one."

Hermione glanced at what she had chosen, it was a white pencil skirt with a floral design in black, blue and purple. It had a slit in the back that met the bottom of the zipper, she had paired it with a plain black fitted, sleeveless top, that buttoned up in the front and had a high neck that tied in a bow. She shrugged and reached into her drawer pulling out a matching set of purple undergarments and quickly stripped out of her pj's and put on the outfit. Once she was done Ginny was holding her 'hot chick' Louboutin's, she rolled her eyes and slipped the heels on casting stabilizing and cushioning charms so she could walk properly in them.

Ginny insisted on doing her hair casting charm after charm to straighten it and pull it back into an elegant yet messy French twist. While Ginny was busy wrangling her hair, Hermione was putting on her makeup, a nude pink lipstick, a bit of white liner on her lower lash line, a sweep of mascara and a nude shimmery eyeshadow, finishing the look with a black cat eye. She found one of her larger black handbags and placed all the necessary items in it, her phone, which was on silent, a copy of her resume, her wallet with her ID and any other documents she might need. She took out all her earrings before putting in a pair of white gold studs with a round cut black diamond in them, and a matching bracelet. Glancing at her watch as she took it off she noticed it was already 8:00am and she was to be at the school at 8:45. She gave Ginny a hug and asked her to hang around the house till she came back, Sirius and Remus were off doing something, she didn't actually know what but they had taken Teddy with them, she told Ginny they'd be back soon and to make herself at home.

With that she headed out to her car and drove into Forks.

* * *

Kae writhed on the ground, blood was dripping out the side of his mouth which was open in a silent scream, he'd stopped vocalizing his screams a while ago, his throat too raw to continue.

"What the FUCK were you thinking? Bedding the little whore, disgracing your family even more than you already do? Your job was to wine and dine her, drug her, get her back to your apartment, and let Dolohov get a hold of her. You useless arse!"

Kae sat up, wiping the blood from his chin, "She's fucking hot! I just wanted to get a piece of her before there wasn't anything left, you told me Dolohov was going to get a piece, why can't I?"

A heeled foot struck out and kicked him in the stomach, he grunted and fell down curling into a ball, he vaguely heard laughter from the other person in the room.

"Dolohov gets a piece because he's been itching for her for YEARS, you're nothing, a stain on my house, you're lucky mother set up a vault for you before she died because father would have left you to rot, as will I if you continue to fail."

Another kick came before the sound of his sister and her partner popping away, he got up slowly and made his way to the bathroom, glancing in the mirror he took in the blood on the front of his shirt and the bruising on his face, he pulled the shirt off and threw it away. Sighing he turned on the cold water and splashed his face, rubbing gently to remove as much blood as he could before he drank some water swishing it around and spitting it into the sink seeing the pink tinge it had. He gripped the sink and stared at himself through the curtain of his dirty black hair.

This wasn't who he was, sure he wasn't exactly a nice guy, using women for his own pleasure and whatnot, but this took it way too far, but he couldn't go against his family.

* * *

Hermione made it to the school with 20 minutes to spare, she quickly found a parking spot and walked into the administration building. She followed the signs till she came across the principal's office. The secretary wasn't around but the door was cracked so she knocked loudly.

"Come in!" The voice from within the room was deep, and it made her shiver in an unpleasant way, it reminded her of the way Umbridge's voice made her feel. Shaking herself and steeling her nerves she pushed the door open and strolled in. She took in the man sitting behind the desk, balding, with salt and pepper hair, thick rimmed glasses perched on the edge of his nose, the scowl on his face didn't make his appearance any better.

He glanced up and stood when she got closer, she reached out to shake his hand and was disgusted by how sweaty it was.

"You must be Her-mine Granger-Black?"

Hermione shot him a small smile, "Her-my-oh-knee actually, but yes, that's me, it's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Green."

The man gestured for her to take a seat on a hard-plastic chair and he sat himself in a plush leather office chair, he placed his elbows on his desk and leaned on his hands.

"Please, call me Dennis. So, you're here to apply for the English teacher job huh? I've read through your qualifications and I must say they are impressive; you have great references also, but, you're awfully young to be teaching high school, aren't you?"

Hermione managed to hold in her snort at his tone, "I'm 22, I finished my secondary schooling at 17 and got my degrees at 20 after taking some college courses during my last year of secondary, I've been an accredited teacher for two years, I don't think my age has anything to do with my ability to teach."

The man nodded, before looking her up and down, his eyes lingering just a bit too long at her chest before he moved them up to her face. She was pleased to see the sheepish look he shot her when he noticed he'd been caught looking.

"Well, I have no reason to not hire you, you're the best candidate despite your age, the only other problem I can see is it says here you're related to Isabella Swan? Will this affect your ability to be impartial to her during your classes?"

Hermione nodded, "I've already spoken to Bella to make sure she was okay with this, me being her cousin won't affect my teaching at all."

Dennis nodded, "Well I have some paperwork for you to fill out, the jobs yours, the starting salary is $52,000 a year, we also have insurance options offered, and a 401k, is this acceptable to you?"

She nodded again, obviously she had no need of the money, she'd probably just donate it all anyway. She accepted the pen he held out to her and as she skimmed over the pages, she stopped on a page that had small print talking about the anti-discriminatory clause, and the harassment clause. Her eyes widened when she read it, she was a smart girl and reading between the lines was one of her specialties, this contract basically stated that anyone working there were agreeing to never file a sexual or physical harassment claim against any of the older, tenured workers. She glanced up at Mr. Green and noticed he was staring at her again. Taking the pen, she crossed out that section before finishing her skimming and handing it back to him.

"I refuse to sign that until that section is amended." She crossed her arms across her chest and met his eyes as he stared her down.

"Fine" He muttered before turning to his computer and editing the document before printing a new copy and handing it to her for examination. Once she was satisfied it was okay, she signed it with a flourish and handed it back to him, she waited for him to sign his parts and once he was finished, she smiled and reached to shake his hand.

"I'll be expecting you to re-do all of the contracts with your subordinates with this contract, or I will be having words with Uncle Charlie" She gripped his hand a little tighter than necessary as they shook hands. He only nodded and then showed her to her new room, giving her a small tour of the school, pointing out the teachers' lounge as well. Before she left, he handed her a set of keys that would unlock the doors to the school and her classroom door, as well as the lounge. Placing them in her purse she headed for the parking lot, as she was climbing into the car, she noticed a very pale shape standing just within the tree line watching her. She glared at it before she pulled out her phone and noticed she had more missed texts and calls from Kae, she made to delete them before she noticed she had a voicemail from Uley & Pack.

"Hermione, this is Sam Uley with Uley & Pack, I'd like to let you know that the bedroom part of your order has been completed and was wondering if you'd like the boys to deliver it. Please, give me a call back when you get a chance. Have a good day."

Hermione's skin broke out in goosebumps when his voice reached her hears. Merlin, she could listen to him speak all day and never be tired of it. She shook her head to get rid of those thoughts before dialing the number to the shop.

* * *

Sam jumped when the phone rang, he'd been day dreaming about that wolf and the girl again. Growling under his breath he stomped into the office, freezing when he saw the caller ID. He held his breath as he watched the phone ring, he snapped out of it just in time to answer it before she hung up.

"Uley & Pack, this is Sam Uley speaking, how can I help you?"

"Hello Sam, It's Hermione Granger-Black"

He had to swallow the whimper that threatened to make its way out of his throat at the melodic sound of her voice.

"Hello Hermione, I'm assuming you got my voicemail about your bedroom furniture being done?"

He couldn't help the sigh that left as he heard her giggle into the phone a bit.

"I did, are you sure it wouldn't be a problem to have them brought in separate deliveries? I am in no rush so whatever works best for you, I can even pay a bit more if you deliver them separately."

"No!" He took a breath before replying in a much calmer manner, "No, that won't be necessary, we don't mind doing more than one delivery. When would work best for you?"

He heard her hum and pull her phone away from her ear.

"I'll be home in about 30 minutes, you guys can come any time after that, just shoot me a text to let me know before you head over."

He smiled at the thought of seeing her again.

"That works perfect for us, I'll see you later. Have a good day Hermione."

He hung up the phone and ran his hand over his face, he needed to get himself under control before he got there, this woman and the wolf were going to be the death of him he was sure.

* * *

Hermione sped her way back to the house making it in 15 minutes, she rushed inside and grabbed Ginny who was lounging on the couch. She quite literally dragged her into her bedroom slamming the door behind them.

"Ok, so, I'm having my bedroom furniture delivered here in a little bit, and I need to look cute!"

Ginny just stared at her before answering, "Any particular reason you're freaking out about looking cute before the furniture gets delivered?"

Hermione froze on her way to the closet her face burning, "no, nope, none at all. In fact, forget I said anything and you just go on back downstairs and see if the boys are back."

She tried to shove the laughing ginger back out the door only to have her maneuver out of her reach and dance back into the room.

"Oh no, I smell a juicy little story here, now come tell Ginny all about the man who has caught your eye. I'm sure it isn't that Kae guy since he worked at the car dealership."

She twitched nervously under Ginny's scrutinizing stare; her entire body felt like it was on fire from how hard she was blushing. She shook her head and bolted into her closet digging through the drawers to find a decent pair of trousers. She was frantically searching when a pale hand stopped hers.

"Hermione, relax, I'll find you something cute and casual, I promise."

She felt her shoulders droop as she relaxed and watched Ginny pull out a pair of very short, high-waisted light wash jean shorts with frayed ends and she plucked a form fitting black tank top off a hanger and thrust them into Hermione's waiting arms.

She stripped quickly and wiggled into the shorts before Ginny stopped her, "Bra off."

Hermione glared at her friend before shrugging out of her bra and slipping the tank top over her head tucking it into the shorts and taking the thick black belt that was draped over Ginny's hand. She shuddered when Gin cast a charm on her chest to keep everything up and perky, it was such an odd feeling having someone else do it to her. She slid her feet into the flat black sandals her friend handed her and watched as she carefully magicked her toenails to have a nice black French tip and then she did her fingernails a matte black. Ginny reached around and undid Hermione's French Twist and let her long, semi wavy, the straightening charms were wearing off, hair fall down her back, with it kind of straight it almost reached her bum.

Hermione flinched lightly when Ginny pointed her wand directly into her face, but relaxed when she felt her magic melt her makeup off, Ginny mumbled something and Hermione knew she was re-doing her makeup.

"Kay' you're perfect. Casual and sexy at the same time, whoever this guy is won't be able to take his eyes off of you, I promise."

Hermione grinned at her friend before taking a glance in the mirror, Ginny had done well, the outfit hugged her curves and made her legs look insanely long. Her makeup was light, black eyeliner lined her eyes and mascara made her lashes long and thick, she didn't have any lipstick on letting her natural pink show through, she did dig out a pomegranate Chapstick from one of her purses and swipe it on. She gave a smile in the mirror and hugged Ginny before the two headed back downstairs, just in time for Sirius and Remus to waltz through the door and Hermione's phone chime. She rushed to grab it and nearly squealed when she saw it was from Sam stating they were 20 minutes out. She quickly replied back with an affirmative that she was ready when they were and wandered over to give her dad a hug.

Remus had taken a sleeping Teddy upstairs and tucked him in for a nap. Hermione informed them that her bedroom furniture was being delivered soon and reminded them to be nice. It was mainly for Sirius who still wasn't comfortable thinking about the shape shifters being anywhere near his home and his pack. A few minutes passed and Remus had gone out to let the wards down just long enough for the shifters to make it through. Hermione was looking at herself in the mirror that was hung near their front door. She twisted and turned each way making sure everything looked perfect, Ginny was giggling at her as she pulled her own long deep red hair into a high ponytail before hanging upside down on the couch.

Hermione took a deep breath right before she heard the bell ring, waiting just a minute to send glares at her family laughing behind her before opening the door with a small smile on her face. She had to crane her neck to look the man standing in her doorway in the eye.

"Hermione!"

She laughed a bit at Jared's obvious excitement, she hauled him in the house and glanced behind him noticing that Sam was helping Seth and Paul unload what looked to be her bed from the bed of a well-used pickup. She frowned a bit at the dented, rusty machine before shaking her head and waiting for them to make it to the door. She couldn't help but stare when she saw Sam was wearing a t-shirt that had the sleeves torn off, she watched the way his muscles flexed as he lifted a huge park of her bed onto his shoulder. Once they were at the door, she quickly led them upstairs and to her bedroom. She could feel the way Sam's stare burned into her skin as she walked up the stairs ahead of him.

* * *

Sam couldn't get the furniture loaded into his old, rusty pickup fast enough. He got to see his imprint today and he was so nervous. They boys hadn't stopped poking fun at him since they found out, once they were loaded, he shot a text off to Hermione and sped out of the driveway. His fingers had been drumming on the steering wheel since they left, and as they drew closer to the house the speed of his drumming increased.

Turning into the insanely long driveway he couldn't help the way his heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest. As soon as he parked Jared was out the passenger side and bolting to the house before he could even blink, probably to give him some time to compose himself so he didn't look like a fool. Even if he was thankful for that little stunt, he couldn't help the scowl on his face when Jared's voice rang out and he heard Hermione's giggles.

He could feel the way her eyes raked over him as he helped the boys unload the furniture piece by piece, he grunted and lifted a particularly large piece onto his shoulder. He knew the rest of the pack would be giving him hell for showing off but he couldn't care less as long as she continued watching him the way she was.

They made their way to the house and he shot Hermione a smile before she turned and led them up the stairs. His eyes raked over her form, taking in her milky skin, the way her legs seemed to go on and on and he had to force his eyes back up when they settled on her backside. She was so tiny compared to him, she couldn't be taller than 5'4", that made her over a foot shorter than him seeing as he stood at a towering 6'8". He shook his head as they made it to the landing, she led them to the master suite and told them to place the pieces anywhere.

Doing so he watched as Seth and Paul wandered back downstairs to get the rest of the stuff out of the truck, knowing they'd drag Jared with them he decided to use this time alone to talk to his imprint.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person Hermione."

The smirk she shot him was almost enough to bring him to his knees then and there, he had to lock them to keep himself upright as she stretched her hand out to him.

"Believe me Mr. Uley, the pleasure is all mine."

He knew that she wasn't meaning to have the effect she did on him, but dammit, the way she all but purred his name sent shivers racing down his spine. He took her hand in his and instead of shaking it he brought it to his lips, never breaking eye contact with her as he pressed a gentle kiss to her knuckles.

* * *

Hermione froze as Paul and Seth left the room, leaving her alone with Sam, someone she'd only ever seen in his wolf form, not that he knew that she knew. She was amazed at how big he was up close; the other boys were huge for their age but Sam dwarfed them. Her mouth had gone dry and she swallowed nervously.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person Hermione."

She managed to withhold the nervous twitch her body wanted to do at the sound of his voice, she channeled her father and sent him a smirk as she stuck her hand out to shake his.

"Believe me Mr. Uley, the pleasure is all mine."

She could see the way he shivered when she spoke to him, and she had noticed the way he stiffened when she shot him a smirk. She sucked in a breath when he kissed her knuckles instead of shaking her hand, she knew her neck was slowly turning red and her breath came out in short quiet pants, it was suddenly so hot in here with the way his black eyes gleamed at her. She retracted her hand and gave him another smile before saying they should probably go help get the rest of the stuff. She waited till he was out of sight down the stairs and gave herself a shake.

' _Get ahold of yourself Hermione Jean!'_ She glanced through her open closet and bathroom doors and saw herself in the mirror. She could see the way she was still flushed just from talking to him, she walked in and ran her hands under some cold water before pressing them to her cheeks and the back of her neck.

' _Merlin, I've never acted like such a love-struck teenager in my entire life, granted, this at least feels real like I'm somewhat in control, not like what happened with Kae.'_

She was still waiting on a response from either Draco or Severus about potions that could've been given to her, and she was 100% sure she hadn't acted on her own accord that night. Glancing behind her to make sure she was still alone she waved her hand and cancelled the glamour that was on her neck, she winced at the sight of the black and blue bruising that lined her throat. Some of with was from Kae and some from Dolohov. Sighing she quickly glamoured it again when she heard the boys coming up the stairs, she turned and strolled out of the bathroom and met them at the door.

This time each of the boys was carrying what looked to be the posts for her four-poster bed, she couldn't help the tiny gasp that left her when she saw the intricate carvings on them. They were all the same, well, as close to the same as hand carved wood could be, there was a beautiful depiction of a running wolf's body that wrapped around the post where they met the bed, above that was carved to look like the night sky, small dips making up the stars. Above that there was a sphere, carved very lightly into it was the phases of the moon which wrapped around the ball, the post continued up flaring a bit at the bottom and the top tapered off into a rounded point, all the way up was carved with curved rivets. The posts were thick and square on the bottom to hold the weight of the bed.

She jumped when Sam's deep voice rang out behind her, "I hope you like it; Jared came up with the design, he said it reminded him of you when he drew it up."

She gave him a big smile, "I love it, it's beyond perfect."

She turned to Jared who had been wearing a hopeful look on his face the entire time she had been absorbed in the carvings, she gave him a hug, stiffening when she heard a low agitated growl from behind her. She let go of Jared and glanced up, he was frozen too, his hands had snapped to behind his back the second the growl had started and he was staring straight at Sam.

She turned to face the man in question her head cocking to the side as she observed him. His eyes weren't looking at her though they were locked on Jared and his face was showing a dangerous looking snarl. Hermione wasn't scared in the slightest, having looked a full-grown werewolf in the face at the age of 14, faced murderers and rapists and been petrified by a giant murderous snake, a pissed off shape shifter was not even in her top ten of scary beings. Forgetting that she wasn't supposed to know about the boys she stalked over and poke Sam in the chest.

"Stop growling at Jared this instant Sam, he's done nothing wrong."

She knew she'd put her foot in her mouth as soon as all the boys faces showed the shock they felt. She gave a kind of sheepish grin and backed out the door before bolting down the stairs.

She made it to the couch Sirius was sitting on, "Papa, we may have a bit of a problem."


	23. Screaming Eagles

_**Here you go! I hope you all enjoy this next chapter. I'm sorry it took a little bit to get out.**_

 _ **As always, anything you recognize belongs to the rightful owners.**_

 _ **Beta love to Starkiss666**_

 _ **Love you all and all the reviews you leave, they give me the inspiration to write!**_

* * *

Sam had wandered back down the stairs to help the boys unload the rest of the bed; he hadn't noticed that Hermione hadn't followed him down until he was already to the front door. He shrugged it off and headed out to the pickup, he shot the boys a look to make them stop sniggering at him. They each grabbed a post of the bed and headed back into the house, Sam trailed behind the rest watching them. It hadn't escaped his notice that Seth had been eyeballing the redhead on the couch, it also hasn't escaped his notice how the man sitting next to her glared at them every time they entered the room. He could only be Hermione's father, the boys had told him how uncomfortable he made them, and he couldn't deny that he unsettled him as well.

He climbed the stairs carrying the post with ease, the boys had placed all of them against the far wall and he set his there as well. He stood watching her as she ran her fingers over the carvings, it made his heart swell when she gasped quietly at the wolf carved in the post. He didn't know why Jared had chosen this design until that day in the woods, his pack obviously knew she would be important to them even if he hadn't at the time.

"I hope you like it; Jared came up with the design, he said it reminded him of you when he drew it up."

He let out a deep chuckle when he saw her jump, she quickly turned to face him with a big smile on her face.

"I love it, it's beyond perfect."

He wasn't prepared for her to turn to Jared, who had been watching her the entire time, obviously hopeful that she'd like the design, and hug him. He didn't even realize he had started growling lowly until Jared and Hermione both froze, the former throwing his hands away from Hermione and clasping them behind his back and the latter turning to face him. The face she was making at him made her look like a confused yet angry puppy, her cocking her head to the side just added to the effect.

He hadn't even noticed when she marched up to him until her tiny finger was stabbing him in the chest, he had been too busy snarling at Jared.

"Stop growling at Jared this instant Sam, he's done nothing wrong."

His eyes widened as he stared down at his little imprint, his eyes flicking between her and his pack, the latter of whom matched his shocked expression. She shouldn't have been able to hear the growl he'd let out; it was something they referred to as an Alpha Call, it was meant to warn the others when they were crossing a line. His eyes flickered back to her and he noticed she had a very sheepish grin on her face, he was still frozen in place as she slowly backed away and bolted out the door. None of them made a move to stop her, all still trying to comprehend what had just happened.

Jared was the first to snap out of the stupor, "Well, I'm going to go out on a limb and say she might know more than she lets on?"

Sam snapped out of it when he heard Jared speak, "I don't know, but I'm sure going to find out."

With that he led the boys down the stairs, moving slowly as he didn't want to set off her father or uncle, he didn't need them to hate him any more than her father already seemed to. Once they reached the main floor, he noticed Hermione was stood behind and off to the side of her father, next to her uncle, the redheaded girl he had noticed earlier was whispering in Hermione's ear, low enough that even he couldn't hear, but he knew it had to be about them by the way their eyes shifted between each other and him.

He tore his eyes away from his imprint when her father cleared his throat, "Apparently, we need to clear the air, Sam, if you'd be so kind as to call the rest of your pack?"

He could feel the way his eyebrows rose, the boys behind him gasped a bit. Crossing his arms over his chest he took a defensive stance, "I'm not sure I understand what you mean Mr. Black."

Her father laughed, a full deep belly laugh, "Please call me Sirius, I'm merely stating it'd be easier if all of your pack was here so you didn't have to try to explain everything we're about to tell you to them, I know you have a way of communicating amongst each other that doesn't include cell phones."

Sam visibly deflated before making eye contact with Seth and nodding his head. He waited for the younger wolf to leave the house before turning back to his imprint's family.

"Well boys, you just as well take a seat while we wait. Moony, why don't you make some tea and maybe something to snack on."

Hermione was perched on the couch with Ginny on one side and Sirius lounging on her other, Remus had gone up to check on Teddy after dropping off tea, coffee and some biscuits. No one had said anything since they had sat down, Sam had insisted on the girls taking the couch and Sirius had sat next to them, leaving the spot on the other end open for Remus. The pack had perched in the love seat and couple of soft arm chairs they had, the rest were sprawled on the floor. Seth had come in minutes after leaving and confirmed that Leah and Jacob were coming, they'd stop and grab Brady and Collin on their way.

She was currently sipping on her caramel red apple tea that Remus had handed her, he'd divvied out tea and coffee or water to whomever had wanted it. Ginny was nursing a cup of coffee, well, coffee flavoured cream really, sweetened to the point of giving someone a toothache. None of the wolves had taken tea or coffee but Seth, Jared and Paul were all happily munching on some of the chocolate biscuits Remus had sat out.

Glancing around she made eye contact with Sam, his dark eyes locked on hers and she just knew her ears were starting to turn red from the way he was watching her. She shot out of her seat like a rocket when the doorbell rang, walking swiftly there she swung it open and came face to face with Leah.

"Hello Leah." She gave the older girl a hesitant smile, "May I speak with you alone before we head in there? Boys, you can go on in, there's biscuits and drinks in the living room, try to ignore the tension in there."

Leah waited as the rest of the pack headed into the house, Hermione didn't miss the dark glare Jacob sent her way but she chose to ignore it for the time being. Once the door shut, she took a deep breath in before slowly letting it out to steel her nerves.

"Okay Leah, I'm sure you remember our conversation from the woods, right? You've also probably noticed that you can't seem to say anything about it to anyone and the rest of the pack hasn't said anything about seeing it in your mind? Well, what we are about to tell you guys in here has to do with that, I'd like to fix that before we go in so you may join in on the discussion. Is that alright?"

Hermione didn't like the distrustful way Leah was looking at her, she knew she'd probably crossed a line when she locked the memory away but she couldn't have the rest knowing until it was time, which, with her big mouth, was a lot sooner than she meant for it to be.

She pulled out her wand and wanted to laugh at the look Leah was giving her, of course she would look stupid to someone who didn't know exactly what a wand was.

"Well Leah, first off, I'm a witch." She held up her wand for her to see, Leah's look had changed from amusement to a look of disbelief.

"A witch huh? Where's your warty nose, green skin and pointy hat?"

Hermione snorted, "We don't have green skin, some of us do have warts though it's not actually a trademark of being a witch and we do wear pointy hats for special occasions, I wore one when I graduated from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Hermione decided to show Leah a taste of her magic, "Avis" with a flick of her wand hundreds of little birds flew out of the tip.

Leah stared at them; her eyes wide. "If I was to use another spell, I could make them attack whatever target I wanted."

She then cancelled the spell and held her hand out in front of her, palm up. She let the heat of her magic pool in her palm as she called forth her signature bluebell flames. She motioned for Leah to come closer with her other hand before grabbing the older girl's wrist and transferring the flame into her palm.

"It won't burn, it gives off heat and light but it won't hurt you."

Hermione watched as Leah became entranced by the flames, letting her fingers dip into them before pulling them out and looking them over for any signs of injury. With a smile she cancelled the spell, much to Leah's dismay, she laughed when Leah pouted a bit having been amused by the ball of flames.

"I'll show you more later but I just want to be sure you believe me before I fix the lock on your memories."

Leah gave her a scrutinizing look before she nodded her head once and braced herself as if Hermione was going to hurt her.

"Relax Leah, it'll take a second or two and you won't feel anything except maybe a slight pressure when the lock and jinx are lifted okay?"

Hermione didn't wait for a reply before she stunned Leah and lowered her softly to the ground, she quickly dove into her mind and destroyed the lock making sure none of the memories were ruined in the process. Coming out she cast the counter for the lang lock jinx and then woke Leah up. She helped her sit up and conjured one of her chocolate bars from her room.

"Here, eat this before we go in, having what I did to you done can drain a person, this chocolate will help."

Hermione laughed openly at the look on Leah's face, "I promise, just eat the bar and we will go back inside."

She wolfed down the bar smacking her lips and looking longingly at the empty wrapper, "That's probably the best chocolate I've ever had, where can I get some."

With a smile Hermione helped her up, "I'll get some for you next time I'm back in England okay? For now, before you leave, I'll send a couple of my bars with you. Now, we are going inside and we are going to tell you all that we are witches and wizards and how exactly we know what you guys are."

Hermione turned and started for the house, pausing once to make sure Leah was following her before she went into the living room and took a seat next to her father and Ginny. Remus was sat next to her father and seemed to be nodding off on the couch, she knew he had been trying to listen in on her conversation with Leah by the way he shot her a grin when she came in.

Leah had gone to stand just behind Sam, next to her brother. Minutes passed and no one said anything causing Sirius to sigh loudly and grumble under his breath before he got up. Clapping his hands to make sure he had everyone's attention, even though he had since he stood up, he gestured to the pack across from his.

"Well, let's get this out of the way, shall we? You all are shapeshifters who change into giant wolves and this change hasn't been seen in your tribe for hundreds of years, it is caused by the fact that there are vampires, or as you know them the cold ones, living close to your territory again. We also know that the coven of vampires residing in Forks are 'vegetarian' hence why there hasn't been a war between you two as you have a treaty to stay off each other's lands without express permission, such as when you all go grocery shopping in Forks or when Mr. Black here goes to visit Miss Bella."

When he finished that statement you could hear a pin drop until all the wolves started yelling at Sam, it was impossible to tell who was saying what, Sam just stood there rubbing his temples and Leah stood behind him looking a bit smug.

Remus was glaring something fierce at the wolves because he was worried they would wake Teddy from his nap, even though he's put the silencing spell up to keep the noise out. Finally, he'd had enough of the noise and obviously Sirius wasn't going to do anything because he had sat back down and was watching them amusedly. "Will you all shut up so we can finish our explanation as to how we know all this? Also, if you wake my son from his nap, I will personally eviscerate you all."

If the growling tone of his voice had spooked any of them, they didn't let it show, he knew his eyes had probably flashed as well, something that happened when he let Moony get the better of him. He quickly looked over to his mate, to make sure he hadn't spooked her or anything. What he hadn't been expecting was the scent of her arousal permeating the air, apparently, she'd enjoyed his little power display. Taking a deep breath in he almost started salivating, she smelled like chocolate biscuits and tea, he waved his hand subtlety once and cast an air purifying charm to help him keep a level head throughout this meeting. It just wouldn't do to have him grab Leah and take her right then.

Sam growled lowly at the threat made to his pack but wisely kept his mouth shut, only turning to tell the others to keep their mouths shut unless he told them to speak. Hermione hid a giggle behind her hand, the rest of the wolves looked so insulted at what he had said that it was obvious he didn't order them around in human form very often. She met Sam's eyes when her giggle caught his attention, he gave her a small smile that softened the hard lines of his face for a fraction of a second before he resumed his 'alpha face'.

Hermione put her hand out when her father started to stand again to continue their tale, making sure he stayed seated she stood up.

"I'm sure you're wondering exactly how we know what you are and I promise I will get to that, but first I feel we should give you a little insight to us. What I'm about to tell you, well, you may not believe it at first, but I shall strive my best to convince you."

She glanced around at the pack before meeting Leah's eyes, she gave her a little nod of encouragement which made Hermione smile.

"Well, I am a witch, a wand waving, broom flying, spell casting witch. My father and uncle are both wizards, Ginny here is also a witch, we were all trained at a school in Northern Scotland hidden from muggles, that's a non-magical person, it's a centuries old castle, where we have been taught by a multitude of magical beings."

She pulled her wand out of her pocket and showed it to the wolves, all of whom except Leah and surprisingly Sam were watching her like she was looney.

"Now, I'm going to show you some spells we are taught at my school." She put her wand in the proper position and thought about what spell she wanted to use.

"Flagrate"

She wrote 'I am Hermione Granger-Black' with flames in the air before her, once she was finished, she looked at them grinning at their shocked faces.

"Finite" the words disappeared.

"Avis" Leah let out a laugh at the birds that had been small blue and canary like for her but they came out as crows this time. "Finite"

She tapped her wand on her chin trying to decide what to do next and an idea popped up, tapping herself once on the head she felt the spell wash over her like a cracked egg. From the gasps she heard she knew her disillusionment charm had worked properly. Cancelling the charm, she smiled at them again before concentrating on the kitchen and disappearing from sight with a tiny pop, reappearing in the kitchen, the young wolves, the ones Hermione didn't know, were gasping and whispering that she could teleport. She walked back to the living room and sat back in her spot.

She watched as they all tried to process what they had been told, well, all but Leah, she was too busy openly staring at Remus who was trying to subtlety stare at her too. Hermione made a mental note to make sure and set up a meeting between the two of them so they could talk in private. Sam was the first one to recover from the shock of learning they were magical.

"Ok, so you all are witches...wizards?" he trailed off not really knowing how to apply the words to a multitude of them. Hermione took pity on him.

"You can refer to a group as wix, it's gender neutral so there's no way to offend."

Sam nodded gratefully to her before continuing, "So you're all wix but that doesn't explain how you know everything about us and the leeches."

Hermione let out a snort at the derogatory way he spoke of vampires, "We know about the ' _leeches'_ because we study magical creatures and beings in our schooling, we also have a treaty with the Volturi which is basically the vampires government. We've also fought against some in a war we were in, they sided with the dark wizard we were going against. As for how we know about you, you're considered magical beings, there's an entire dossier on the Quileute Tribal Shapeshifts at MACUSA. We knew about your pack before we even decided to move here."

Jared piped up then, "What's MACUSA?"

Hermione smiled at the wolf she considered a friend, "MACUSA stands for the Magical Congress of the United States of America, it's the wizarding societies reigning government here in America. In England we have the Ministry of Magic, we also have a liaison between the magical government and the muggle one, including Her Majesty the Queen. I'm sure MACUSA has the same for your president."

Sam was the one who piped up next, "So that day in the woods, when we found Teddy, you knew exactly who we were. Why didn't you just tell us then and there, or even before?"

Hermione shook her head, "The only one I knew for sure was Leah and that's because of the way Remus was watching her. Thank you for confirming my suspicions that the black wolf was you. We didn't tell you because there is a statute of secrecy that forbids us from telling muggles about what we are, unless their family produces a witch or wizard."

Seth let out a barking laugh at the look of shock on Sam's face, Hermione shot him a grin which just made him laugh harder until Leah smack him on the back of his head and told his to shut up. Sam had to process this for a second, she knew he was a, what she called them? A shapeshifter?

"Hermione? What do you mean we are shapeshifters; we've always been called werewolves? Also, if your government knows about us why would we be included in the not knowing what you are?"

Hermione smiled indulgently at them and turned to Remus, "Would you like to explain, or shall I?"

Remus waved her on, his attention focused solely on Leah which made Hermione smile, Remus and Leah both deserved to be happy.

"You're not werewolves because you don't feel the pull of the moon, you're able to change your forms at will. A true werewolf can only change when it's a full moon, in fact, Sam, you've seen a real werewolf up close and personal."

She knew she'd have to tell them that she was a different kind of shifter but she'd get to that in a bit.

"A while ago you and three smaller wolves were in a clearing in the woods when something attempted to attack you, am I right?"

Sam nodded his head mutely; he'd never forget the night his other imprint had saved them.

"That was a true werewolf, someone who has been infected with lycanthropy and couldn't resist the call of the moon, the one who came after you had caught the lingering scent of his mate."

She stared at them as she waiting for the wolves to put the pieces together, not surprised when Leah was the first to gasp.

"You mean, he's, and I'm, I'm the reason he attacked my brothers?"

Hermione shook her head, "He had taken a potion we have called wolfsbane, it allows him to keep his human mind to the front during his change, if he wasn't to have taken it, I don't think anything would have stopped him from taking his mate. Moony, the werewolf part of his mind, is usually very docile during the change when he has wolfsbane but that night he'd caught the scent of you and he wasn't able to control himself. The other wolf that had fought him gave him enough of a distraction for his human mind to take over again."

Sam leaned forward, "You're telling me you know where to find that black wolf?"

The excitement in his voice and the way he radiated eagerness almost made Hermione laugh out loud, but instead she just stretched her arms above her head before shifting into her other form. She shook herself and sat on her haunches, letting her blue-green eyes settle on Sam. His own brown eyes were blown wide, his mouth hanging open as he stared at her. Deciding to put him out of his misery she changed back, only for him to jump in front of her and shield her from his packs view.

She laughed a bit and tapped him on the shoulder, "Um Sam? I don't lose my clothes like you guys do when you change."

He took a chance to glance at her and when he noticed she was still fully clothed he blushed a bit and made to sit back down. Hermione placed her hand on his arm, barely containing the shivers that raced down her spine when she felt the toned muscles there, "Thank you for trying to protect my dignity though Sam, it was very sweet."

She watched as the blush darkened on his cheeks and he gave her a nod before sitting down and ignoring the laughing looks his pack was sending him. She sat down, leaning her head on Ginny's shoulder and smiling softly. "As for the question of why we couldn't tell you it's simple, you have a form of magic that allows you to shape-shift at will but you're still muggles, you don't have a magical core strong enough to consider yourselves wix. We could be taken to court and thrown in jail or worse have our magic bound and wands snapped before they obliviate us and send us to live in the muggle world if they were to find out we were telling you all of this. This also means we are trusting you to keep this between yourselves, no telling your elders, or your imprints or anyone. If we feel they need to be brought into the loop we will be the ones to tell them."

Sam's eyes widened again, the information they had was astounding, she knew about imprints? Could that mean that she knew she was his? This time it was Leah who piped up, something was off about her and he didn't know what it was, she didn't seem all that surprised when Hermione's family came out with their secret and that bothered him something fierce.

"So you know about imprints?"

Hermione nodded, "We have a version of them in the wizarding world as well, many magical beings have mates, such as werewolves as you've learned, but there's also Veelas, it's not well known but house elves also mate for life, though I don't know if it's a mate so much as a choice, then we have us wix, we have a version called soul bonded, or in other terms it's a soul mate. It's very rare for a wix to find their soul mate though as it requires both parties to be aware of the bond and for them to acknowledge it willingly, so if someone was to be soul bonded with a muggle they wouldn't know because the muggle wouldn't have knowledge of what to do without the wix explaining magic to them, which is illegal. Even if a wix is dating a muggle they are supposed to keep magic a secret from them."

Sam let out a low whistle, that was a lot of information to absorb, but did that mean he could be Hermione's soul bond or was his imprinting a one-way thing? He was pulled out of his musings when he felt Hermione staring at him, she gave him a small smile before she turned to whisper something in the redhead's ear. Whatever she said must have been about him because the other girl gave him a very obvious once over before winking at him and laughing when he sputtered.

"Well, does anyone else have any questions?"

Brady and Colin's hands shot in the air and started waving making everyone chuckle.

"Yes?"

Brady was the one to speak up being the livelier of the two, "I'm Brady, this is my best friend Colin and I want to know more about your teleportation!"

Sam shot him a small glare and he hastily added a please making Hermione smile.

"Well it's not teleportation exactly it's actually called apparition and it's not as fun as you'd think. It feels like you're being squeezed through a tiny tube only to be shot out the other side. It's only one of our many forms of transportation, for shorter distances we have brooms, apparition and floo. For longer distances we have portkeys and some floos are connected to be able to travel far, ours is currently allowed to do that so we can go to England whenever we'd like to visit our family there."

Her explanation didn't seem to faze the boys when they started asking if they could be taken along for a 'ride'. Seth was trying to get her attention and when that failed he turned to her father.

"Can you tell us more about the other forms of transportation she mentioned? Especially the brooms!"

This made Sirius laugh and he launched into an explanation on the many, many different brooms there were to choose from, and how there was also magic carpets in other parts of the world along with enchanted vehicles and of course magical creatures that were used for transportation, such as the abraxan winged horses that pulled the Beauxbaton's carriage. Deciding to show Seth the floo he brought him to the fireplace and threw down a handful of powder, he stuck his head in and called the address Harry had owled him, he and Luna were still taking time away from England, they'd hunted down Andromeda and visited her before taking a small vacation for themselves. When the young man answered he asked him to come through and to bring his broom.

Pulling his head out of the fire he noticed the wolves were all watching him like they were expecting him to have his head on fire when he came out.

"You travel through FIRE?! That's awesome!" This set Seth off into another tangent of questions that Sirius was having trouble keeping up with. Suddenly the fire roared green and Harry stepped through, followed quickly by Luna. While Harry greeted Sirius, Luna's eyes immediately found Sam. She gracefully walked towards him, looking like she was floating, if someone didn't know better they'd think she was an angel with her knee length white blonde hair and big blue eyes. The only thing that detracted from that look was her overly baggy overalls that had splotches of multi colored paint all over them with one leg rolled up. It was paired with tennis shoes that on closer inspection weren't the same kind. She had half of her hair pulled up and held up with a dirty paintbrush.

She stopped right in front of him and cupped his face in her hands, "I told you Samuel Uley, you better take care of her now."

She pressed a chaste kiss to his forehead before floating over to the other girls leaving Sam to over think about what she had said not to mention blush as bright red as his russet tones would allow. He felt the heat from his blush all the way in his toes. He shook his head as he glanced over at his imprint, a fond smile overtaking his face, he couldn't help the way his mind wandered. His musings were interrupted by the ringing of someone's cell phone. He glanced around and noticed the boys pestering Sirius, Leah was sat next to Remus and they were talking quietly to each other, finally, and then he saw Hermione pull a phone out of her pocket and glower at the caller ID. He watched as she ignored the call and went to put the phone back in her pocket, only for it to ring again. This time she answered the call only to hang right up and shut her phone off. She shoved it into her pocket and turned to the redhead who muttered something, he caught the tail end, "the guy who you went on a date with?"

Hermione nodded her head and he heard her whisper back, "Yea, he's called at least 12 times a day since the date, I'm still uncomfortable with talking to him after what happened, I'm almost 100% sure he drugged me, but so far there hasn't been any proof, I haven't heard anything from Draco or Severus."

Sam couldn't believe what he'd just heard, his imprint had been drugged? What if she'd been raped?! His mind was going 1000 mph, making up worse and worse scenarios, when suddenly he felt a tiny hand on his forearm. Glancing down he followed the hand, up the arm and started when Hermione was there looking up at him with her huge blue green eyes, that were shining with worry.

"Sam? You're growling and looking like someone kicked your puppy, are you okay?"

He took a deep breath in through his nose and faltered, he couldn't smell her.

"Why can't I smell you?" His head cocked to the side as he stared her down, making her fidget under his dark gaze.

Hermione felt her eyes widen, she hadn't realized that he'd know he couldn't smell her, since there were all the different scents in the room. She bit her lip and decided it wasn't that big of a deal to let them know.

"When we moved here, I didn't want you or the 'leeches' to know about me not being normal. So i cloaked my scent, I must have cloaked it a little too well if you can't smell me at all."

She watched as he nodded his head, she waved her hand and felt the cloak of magic she'd permanently placed on herself slip off. She didn't miss the way his nostrils flared or the way his pupils seemed to be blown to the point she couldn't see his chocolate irises. She stood there, inches away, watching him as his eyes raked over her form like he wanted to eat her. The way he was watching her sent shivers racing down her spine, something she tried to ignore despite the blush creeping up her neck. She swallowed thickly and the action drew his eyes back up to her face where he seemed to snap out of his daze as a sheepish smile crept up.

"You're right, you don't smell exactly human, you actually smell a lot like us."

She nodded her head in agreement.

"That's because of my wolf form, it's the alternate form I spend the most time in."

She watched as his head cocked to the side, "The alternate form you spend the most time in? Does that mean you have a different form?"

She grinned up at him and stepped back before changing into her golden eagle form, stretching her wings as she heard a gasp behind her and her head turned to look at the rest of the pack before swiveling around to stare at Sam. She gave a small warble and transformed back into her human skin, rolling her shoulders she made a mental note to go for a fly sometime soon, going long periods without shifting really made for an uncomfortable change. She couldn't help the small snort that escaped when she tried to stifle her laugh at Sam's face.

When he finally found his tongue, he started questioning her, "So you can change into more than one animal? Is that normal? Can other wix do this? Do you have any more forms?"

She just gave him an indulgent smile and shook her head, "Being an animagus takes months, if not years of hard work, not many wix manage it. I'm the only one, so far, in magical Britain that has more than one form. I actually have a law about it that's named after me."

He nodded as if he completely understood everything she had just said, but the confusion that clouded his eyes was clear. "So, your father, he smells different too, and I know you said your Remus was a true werewolf, so what is your father?"

As if he heard them mumbling about him a huge black dog came bounding over and he stood on his hind legs, putting his front paws on Sam's shoulders and licking him right in the face. Hermione couldn't keep her giggle in this time before she reached out and grabbed Padfoot by the scruff, pulling him down and off Sam.

"Bad Padfoot, we don't maul guests."

Sam was perturbed, he hadn't smelled a dog at all since they've been here, and this was a _big_ dog. He watched as Hermione pulled the mutt off him and called it Padfoot, he was even more perturbed when the dog gave her a lazy grin that was slightly eerie on a dogs face and wagged its tail before turning into her father.

Hermione just gave him a shrug of one of her delicate shoulders and a small smile when he looked over at her in shock of the fact that her father had licked his face, he had a feeling this was a common occurrence in their family. He let out a small chuckle in return and felt some of the tension that had wracked his body since their arrival melt away, his inner wolf was starting to feel a lot more comfortable now that everything was out in the open.

Hermione couldn't help but feel like a weight had been lifted now that everything was out in the open, she smiled as Ginny and Luna chattered next to her and she watched as Harry led Seth, Brady and Collin outside with his broom slung over one shoulder. 'Yes' she thought, ' _this is exactly how it is supposed to be, they're meant to be part of us.'_

* * *

Kae threw his phone down on the bed with a growl, "Fuck!" he ran his hand threw his hair, tugging it a bit.

"Fuck!" he screamed it again before kicking his coffee table over, this little whore was going to be the death of him. He should have just stuck to his sister's plan, gain her trust, drug her, give her to them. It was simple, and he got blind-sided by big blue-green eyes, and black righteous curls and more curves than he knew what to do with. He hated this feeling, he felt guilty getting in the middle of it, Hermione was a good person, she didn't deserve this shit but he had orders. He picked up his phone and clicked her name, only for it to ring twice and go to voicemail, where it told him it was full, just like the last 16 times he'd called.

Sitting on the couch he grabbed his glass of vodka and threw it back, shuddering at the burn and closing his eyes. He was going to get that girl where his sister wanted her if it was the last thing he did.


	24. The American Nightmare

**Happy New Year all!**

 **I want to start out by thanking my best friend/Beta Starkiss666**

 **Also, I want to thank you all for your reviews it really keeps me going**

 **I hope you all have a marvelous 2020**

 **Recognizable characters and happenings belong to the original authors**

* * *

Two weeks had passed since they had told the pack the truth about them, Hermione had been in constant contact with Sam and Leah since then. Leah had been regularly coming to the house to meet with Remus and herself and Hermione couldn't be happier at the way their relationship had been progressing. She had been ignoring calls from Kae since the date, she knew he'd give up sooner or later and they could just move on with their lives.

She was lounging on the couch when the floo suddenly sprang to life, she nearly fell off her perch scrambling for her wand before she remembered only a select few had access to their house. She kept her wand held loosely in her hand, just in case it was someone who wasn't welcome but had figured a way around the floo block. She let out a sigh of relief when a tall figure stepped through, his short white blonde hair giving away exactly who he was, she was shocked when a second figure came through, his now short black hair was a stark contrast to how he'd worn it while teaching.

She gave them each a smile before dragging Draco into a hug that he returned with enthusiasm, something that had taken her months to get him used to. Neither of the men standing before her today were very good with friendly physical contact or emotions but she was slowly wearing them down. Draco had come around to the casual touching she did a lot quicker than Severus had, their relationship was more on paper than in person. She had constantly written to him with questions about certain potions and their effects on different creatures, or even just when she read something in her 'Potions Monthly' that she wanted to discuss. After sitting back down and motioning for them to do the same she felt a ball of dread settle in her gut, they would only have come together if it was bad news.

Draco was the first to speak, "Well Herms," she shot him a cutting glare at the horrid nickname he used every time he had something to tell her, "I got the results of my testing back about a week or so ago, I had to call in Uncle Sev because the results were not at all what I was expecting. In fact, I'd never even heard of the potion I'd found traces of."

Her eyes had blown wide, so she had been potioned, but, Kae was a muggle...wasn't he? Taking her silence as an invitation to continue Severus picked up where Draco had left off.

"The potion you had ingested is a very rare and very old one. It's not widely known or used because of the expensive nature of the ingredients but also because of the way it must be delivered."

Hermione was racking her brain trying to think of the rare potions she had studied on her own time, snapping back to attention as he continued.

"The potion is called Ad Imperium, also known as The Wise Man's Draught, it was generally used by men who were in arranged marriages with, shall we say, less than willing partners. The potion is used to inhibit your mind, it clouds your judgement and makes you susceptible to the wills of others. The other reason it fell out of style is because it must be ingested willingly as your magical core will reject the potion if it is forced on a wix, but it must also be given by the one who is wanting to control the other. One mode of doing this is to put it in someone's drink or food and then fed to the person one's wishing to control, something they would ingest without a second thought. What I'm trying to figure out is why the effects haven't lasted the way they should, this is a one-time potion that after being given keeps the victim under it's control until the counter agent is given, but seeing as no one but us know you took it, the potion should still be working in you."

Hermione slumped back into the couch, she'd taken a potion, unknowingly, but also completely willingly. She thought back through the date, her mind was still a bit foggy of everything that had happened but, hadn't he insisted on feeding her the sorbet? Now that she thinks about it, he didn't even have any dessert! He just fed her! With a groan she let her head fall into her hands, noticing the way they were both watching her. Just as she opened her mouth to tell them what she remembered the front door flew open, showing Sirius, Remus, Teddy and Leah. Teddy's skin was a russet brown and his hair was black, but his eyes were the same sea foam green as his fathers, he was being carried in Leah's arms and was chattering wildly to her and she smiled indulgently at him.

Sirius and Remus both froze their eyes darting between Severus, Draco and herself. She sighed, they may be on better terms now but there was still a layer of distrust between the Marauders and the Slytherins in the room. Rolling her eyes she turned to Leah, smiling when Teddy's hair turned to her dark curls.

"Leah, this is Draco Malfoy a friend of mine and a brilliant potioneer." The blonde had gone from shifting uncomfortably to standing rigid with his hands clasped behind his back, looking the epitome of the pureblood prince he was raised as. Hermione took Teddy and gave him a kiss before handing him off to his father, she watched amused as Draco brushed the knuckles on Leah's hand, causing Remus to growl lowly behind her.

"The other man is Severus Snape, one of the world's finest potion masters they are here to discuss an incident that happened a few weeks ago and I'm afraid I'm not really ready to discuss the entire thing with everyone here. Do you mind taking Teddy and going up to his room to play?"

Hermione watched as Leah looked between them all as if trying to figure out what was going on before reaching to take Teddy from Remus and moving up the stairs. Pausing to look back once more before disappearing. Hermione waited a few more moments to hear the bedroom door shut before placing a silencing charm and a perimeter alert up so they could continue this conversation in private.

"So, when I was on the date with Kae, we had dessert. I didn't think much of it at the time but he fed me my dessert and didn't have any for himself."

Severus sighed and nodded, "This would explain how the potion got in your system to begin with but it doesn't explain why it's worked it's way out without the counter agent."

Draco had his eyebrows pulled together and was watching the way Remus was looking at the stairs longingly, it hadn't escaped his notice that his former professor looked years younger than he had the last time he'd seen him, he knew that the werewolf curse caused pre-mature aging and he couldn't seem to figure out why Lupin looked 10 years younger. There was little written about werewolves that one could take as truth, the few that had been written by werewolves had been either destroyed by the ministry or taken by the packs. His attention was brought back to the rest of the group when Severus started mumbling under his breath, something he did only when he was comfortable enough to allow people to hear his innermost thoughts.

He watched as Remus caught Hermione's eye and she nodded as he gave her a smile and bolted up the stairs, taking his chance he caught her attention.

"So, Hermione, on a different note than your little issue, what the hell happened to Lupin? He looks ten years younger!"

Hermione laughed, "He found his mate, you probably didn't notice but when he met Tonks he'd aged severely until he finally accepted their bond, after her death his werewolf gene started aging him again, well, once he met Leah and they finally got the chance to acknowledge their double bond his aging reversed a bit making him less sickly and younger looking."

Draco's ears perked, "Double bond? What do you mean by that?"

Hermione winced a bit and looked over at Sirius, she'd been putting her foot in her mouth too much lately, she needed to hang around Severus more and get back to schooling her features and having her filter switched on. She sighed when he nodded, telling her it was okay to tell Draco everything.

"Remus and Leah have a unique situation, they not only share the werewolf mate bond but Leah is a shapeshifter, and the shapeshifters have a bond not unlike the werewolves but they call them ' _imprints',_ they are essentially soul mates but the wolves aren't compelled to be with them in a relationship way, they can be a big brother, or best friend, or really anything their imprint needs. They will protect them with their lives and do anything within their power to keep them happy."

Draco stared at her, his mind whirling he snapped his head up to look at Severus, the former professor seemed to have come to the same conclusion as him. He looked Hermione over head to toe, as if he could hopefully see the bonds he was looking for.

"Herms," he paused when she shot him a glare, "Hermione, is there any possible way, that one of the wolves could have imprinted on you?"

Hermione laughed a full belly laugh, "I'm sure I'd know if someone imprinted on me don't you think?"

Right then the proximity alarms went off and Leah and Remus came down the stairs, Remus was the first to speak.

"What are you laughing about Mina?"

Hermione shot him a grin, "Draco just asked me if there was any way one of the wolves imprinted on me, I laughed because I'm sure I'd know if someone had."

Remus laughed along with Sirius and Hermione but Leah shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably. She pulled her hand from Remus's and gave him a peck on the cheek, she loved the way his eyes flashed when she did that. "I need to get going, I have patrols with Seth in a bit, mind if I swing by after?"

Remus looked at her as if assessing if she was okay before nodding and returning the peck, and watching her leave, he didn't miss Draco slipping out after her, he felt his wolf come to the surface and try as he might he couldn't push him back down. He knew, logically, that Draco wasn't a threat to his mate or his relationship with her, but seeing someone younger, better looking and much wealthier, basically an all-around better man than he, going after her when she left triggered him. He had just spun on the spot and was headed towards the door when an arm wrapped across his chest and he was hauled back towards the living room.

"Oh no you don't Moony, Draco isn't a threat and you know it. He probably just wants to talk to Leah, leave them be, Leah can handle herself and I doubt a girl like her would be interested in a poncey prick like him."

Remus knew that Sirius actually liked Draco, but hearing that come from him helped him reign Moony back in. He was right after all, there's no way someone like Leah would want someone like Draco, he was much too high maintenance for someone like her who preferred to be outside, she didn't care if she got dirty or sweaty or anything like that. With a resigned sigh he sat down on the couch with Sirius and listened to Severus drone on about the potion Hermione had been given.

* * *

Draco had rushed out after the Leah girl and caught up to her just as she was reaching the gate in the fence that lead out into the woods.

"So, Leah, care to tell me who it is that imprinted on Hermione?"

He almost laughed at the way she froze, she turned her head towards him and he took a step back at the fire that lit her eyes.

"I have no clue what you're talking about, and even if I did, why would I tell someone I've only just met. Don't you think I'd inform my own imprint or even Hermione if I knew something."

Draco raised a brow at her and gave her a calculating sweep, "I'm sure you would if you knew something, unless you've been told not to by a certain alpha in your pack?"

He knew he'd struck gold when her eyes widened and her tan skin turned ashy, her mouth opened and closed as she was trying to formulate a reply.

"I, don't know what you're talking about and my alpha has nothing to do with this conversation. I need to leave now, it was nice meeting you."

Draco didn't get a chance to stop her before she shifted, she gave him a look once more and took off over the fence and into the woods. He shook his head and vanished the ripped clothing that was littering the grass before turning to head back inside, he needed to talk to Uncle Sev about his thoughts.

* * *

Leah took off towards the shop, she had to get to Sam before one of the loud mouth boys sees what had happened. She skidded to a stop just inside the open shop doors and padded to the little bathroom where they all kept a change of clothes, it was barely big enough for her to enter in wolf form but it was better than nothing as she didn't like to be nude in front of the boys, no matter how comfortable they were with it. Shifting back she quickly dressed in a pair of yoga pants and a tank top, she didn't bother with socks or shoes before making her way to Sam's office. She found him leaning back in the chair staring at his phone with a stupid little smile on his face.

Leah rolled her eyes, he must have been texting Hermione, or just re-reading their messages, the man was completely hopeless. She shut the door loudly behind her causing Sam to jump, she lifted a single eyebrow as she stared at him while he fumbled to put the phone away and tried not to blush. Plopping down in one of the leather chairs in front of his desk she stared at him waiting for him to speak first.

Sam scoffed, "Oh shut up Leah, it's not like you're any better when it comes to Remus."

This made Leah smirk, one of her favorite pastimes was to get under Sam's skin and bug the crap outta him. She sniffed at him before replying.

"I didn't even say anything Samuel, you're just jumpy. Anyway, I came here from Hermione's to talk to you about something. There were a couple new men at the house today."

She rolled her eyes at the growl he let out and waited for him to finish before continuing, "the younger one, a friend of hers she introduced as Draco, asked me about imprinting and if anyone of us had imprinted on her."

She watched his reaction and wasn't surprised when he froze, "You need to tell her that you imprinted on her Sam, something happened to her, I don't know what, but Draco seems to think the imprinting is very important to what happened."

"You know I planned on telling her at some point, I just want her to like me for me, not like me because she feels that she has to."

Leah rolled her eyes, "And as I've told you time and time again, Hermione isn't the type to like someone just because she thinks she has to. Call her up, ask her on a date, and tell her. If you don't Sam, well...I will."

That got a reaction out of him, he flew up out of his chair sending it slamming into the wall behind him, "You'll do no such thing Leah, you and the rest of the pack are forbidden to talk to her about that."

Leah felt the way the Alpha's command swept over her, but for the first time since she started shifting, she didn't feel its icy grip on her heart. Her eyes widened a fraction of an inch, what was happening to her?

* * *

Hermione was ecstatic, another two weeks and school would start, she'd already set up her room, something the principle tried to discourage but she ignored him. She couldn't wait to watch the way Edward and his family interacted with the humans, though, having met Edward more than once she could say she felt the tiniest bit of regret at treating them like a science project. They were humanoids after all, they still felt all the feelings that living breathing humans did, but that wasn't enough to make her stop wanting to study them. They were unique, yes there was the Denali coven that were also "vegetarians" but they didn't live in a well populated area and their leader wasn't a damn doctor!

Shaking her head, she wandered downstairs to get something to eat, the boys were gone to who knows where, having taken Teddy with them, she had the house to herself. She wandered downstairs and turned on a music channel, settling on a rock station she switched it to come out of the sound system and turned it up. Dancing around the kitchen she decided to make waffles, she got the batter started and summoned the waffle iron from the top shelf. She plugged it in and waited for it to warm before pouring the batter in, she pranced to the fridge and pulled out a carton of strawberries and begin chopping them up.

She dug out a jar of strawberry preserves and a jar of smooth peanut butter, she didn't like syrup on her waffles, oh no. That made them far too soggy, a good layer of peanut butter and preserves with some fresh fruit was the way to go. Summoning her teaching satchel, she quickly ran through the list of things she needed to get done before the school year started. She was lost in the planning of her syllabus when the iron dinged making her jump in place. Letting out a laugh at herself she quickly plated up her food and went back to planning.

An hour passed as she ate and finished her list, she moved on to cleaning the house, something that she enjoyed doing by hand but the boys never left much of a mess since they could clean everything with a wave of a hand. Finishing that she went down stairs and started a load of laundry before transfiguring her clothes into something work out worthy. Pressing her hand to the workout room door to let it sense her magical signature she heard the click before it swung open and allowed her entrance.

Going through her memorized warm up before she turned on the fighting mannequin, she thought over the last time she'd done hand to hand training. It was something that had come in handy when her and the boys were on the run, it hadn't saved them from being captured or saved her from being tortured but it had definitely saved her from a worse fate. She shook her head and wrapped her hands, once they were tightly done, she flicked her wrist and a life-sized mannequin came stalking forward, it bowed to her before lunging.

Two hours later she was laying on the padded floor drenched in sweat and panting, she hadn't worked out that hard in months. Her arm was thrown over her face blocking out the light, with a groan she sat up and untied her hands. She flexed her fingers and tossed the wraps in a wash pile by the door, she'd get to them later, opening the door she headed up stairs to take a shower to wash away the grime, then a bath to relax.

Before heading up to her bathroom she stopped by the fridge and pulled out a bottle of her favorite peach wine and summoned a glass from the cupboard. With a sigh she cast a cooling charm on the bottle and glass to keep it cold and hurried up the stairs to shower. Once she was clean, she shut the water off and filled up the tub, adding in some honey and milk scented bubble bath and a generous dose of muscle relaxer potion. Piling her clean still wet hair on top of her head and holding it in place with her wand she slathered on a face mask and quickly sunk into the bubbles exhaling with pleasure. She summoned a book from her room and flipped it open to the page she'd marked, she'd never admit to anyone that she absolutely loved these trashy romance novels, when she had a minute alone, she read them as quickly as possible. Settling back into the bubbles and letting her head rest on the pillow attached to the tub she read, sipping her chilled wine now and again.

Before she knew it, the bottle was empty and the book was finished, she groaned as she looked at the large clock on the wall. It'd been a little over an hour since she got in and she looked like a prune, washing the face mask off she stood out of the tub, pulling her wand from her hair and drying herself before walking into the closet, she quickly found a pair of black yoga pants the clung to her bum and a strappy white tank top, not bothering with undergarments since the boys wouldn't be home for hours, if not until tomorrow, she pulled them on and summoned a bottle of nail polish before pulling her long curls up into a high pony away from her face.

Walking back into the bathroom she vanished the empty bottle and grabbed the glass before heading downstairs. She had just poured herself another glass from a new bottle when the perimeter alarms rang out, taking a sip Hermione looked out the window. She choked on the sip when she saw it was Sam making his way up her drive in his beat-up truck.

'Fuck, fuck, fuck I don't have time to get changed, shit.' she thought as she sat the polish on the coffee table with her wine.

Running to the mirror she cast a spell that covered the dark circles and added some definition to her eyes, nothing insane but she didn't look like a dead woman walking at least. Digging in the purse hanging by the door she found some tinted chapstick and swiped it on, letting the watermelon scent calm her a bit. Pointing her wand at herself she uttered the dreaded spell that held everything up and in place, shivering at the weird feeling. A second passed before she heard the slamming of a car door and the crunch of heavy footsteps on the gravel.

Closing her eyes and taking a few deep breaths she tried to calm herself, she shouldn't be this nervous about seeing him, they'd been texting nonstop and she was fine when they delivered the dining room table and chairs, her eyes snapped open, that's it. This is the first time since meeting that they'll be in each other's company, alone and she hadn't been alone with a man that wasn't family since the whole Kae incident. Knowing what was setting her on edge helped, and she knew, instinctively, that Sam wouldn't hurt her.

She still jumped when the doorbell rang, she glanced at the door before giving herself a once over in the mirror, taking a deep breath she pulled the door open and glanced at Sam. She felt a smile form on her face that wasn't forced as she greeted him and invited him inside. Somewhere in the back of her mind she thought she should be afraid to have him in her house alone, he stood almost a foot and a half taller than her, he outweighed her by easily 7 stone, but she wasn't, not in the slightest, if anything having him here made her feel much more comfortable.

Once they wandered into the living room, she offered him a glass of wine, pouring him a glass she sat on the chair next to the couch he was perched on. She was sipping her wine and watching him as he fidgeted and sat as stiffly as possible. He took his first sip of the wine and she couldn't stop the giggle that rose at the look on his face when he realized it was sparkling. She'd been able to resist chuckling at him when she handed him the carved crystal wine glass, his eyes had gotten huge and he gripped it so delicately like it would shatter if he held it any tighter.

Snickering she took another sip of her wine before letting him out of his misery, "As much as I enjoy the company Sam, may I ask what brought on the sudden urge to come here?"

He hadn't mentioned anything about coming over in the numerous texts they'd shared, but she couldn't say she wasn't happy to see him. She watched as he sat his glass down, very gingerly, on the coffee table and he turned his body to face hers. She could see the tell-tale signs of a blush starting in his ears and watched as he closed his eyes briefly as if he was steeling himself for what he was going to say.

"I'd like to take you out, on a date, would you be willing to go?"

Hermione bit her lip, her mind flashing back to her last date, shaking her head she looked Sam over. From the blackest of black hair on his head, down to the warm chocolate eyes that stared at her with hope, fear and something else she couldn't put her finger on. Over the curve of his sheepish grin and down to where his hands were plucking nervously at the buttons on his shirt. She smiled a bit and looked back at his face.

"Sure Sam, I'd love to go on a date with you."

* * *

Kae was almost there, another 5 minutes according to his GPS. He couldn't believe his sister was forcing him to go to the wretched cunt's house. She'd been fielding all his attempts to contact her, something he couldn't figure out. His sister had said the potion would put Hermione under his complete control, whatever he wanted her to do she would. Well it did, for a bit, he couldn't figure out how the bitch had snapped out of the control. She'd said it was impossible and that he must have mucked up the dosage or delivery somehow, but he knew he hadn't. He'd reviewed the instructions meticulously to make sure he made no mistake; he couldn't let his sister take away the fortune their mother had manage to secure him before dropping him off at a boarding school in America and never coming back.

He punched his steering wheel ignoring the beep the horn made. God, his sister was wreaking havoc on his life, when she'd first contacted him to help her and her 'friend' out with a little problem he didn't think anything of it. He didn't want to know the details then but looking back he'd been stupid not to ask. Of course, he knew who Hermione Granger-Black was, anyone with any ties to the magical community did.

He hadn't asked how his sister knew she was coming here, or how she knew that she'd be buying a car, he'd wondered briefly if she had a spy but that was way above his sister's brain power. She wasn't the brightest girl after all, they'd both gotten their mothers looks, thank god for her as she was able to land a perfectly wealthy husband to never have to lift a finger in work every again and for him so he could be as much of a player as he wanted, unfortunately for her she'd been stuck with their fathers nose until she had it fixed after the war. He'd gotten a good helping of his father's business savvy brain and his mother's street smarts, something that helped him turn his small fortune into a much, much larger one. If only he'd gotten the magical gene from them too, then maybe he wouldn't have been discarded like yesterday's newspaper when he was only 8.

Finally, he pulled up to a large gated driveway, ahead he could see the house, damn, that house was huge and beautiful. He could feel the pulse of the muggle repelling wards, he was lucky enough to have just enough of a magical core to be able to sense strong bouts of magic, the muggles would call it a 6th sense, it was just enough that the wards wouldn't make him forget why he was there. He stopped just outside the gate and noticed a key pad and a speaker box. It wasn't unlike the ones he'd seen before; you could enter the code to open the gate, or press the call button to have someone in the house open it for you. Glancing up again he noticed a beat-up black truck sitting in front of the garage, he frowned and watched for a bit before the door opened. Hermione came out followed by a man who towered over her, he grit his teeth in frustration as he watched her beckon the man down before pressing a kiss to his cheek. The little whore was already fucking someone else; she should have been crawling back to him begging to be back in his bed, but no, here she was kissing on some blue-collar trash.

Backing his car up and pulling it off into some trees off the road so the man wouldn't notice it he parked and crept out. Hiding behind the pillar next to the gate he watched as the truck came down the road and the gates opened, he waited for the very last second before he dove in between the closing gates. He stood up and dusted himself off, 'disgusting' he thought as he looked at the dirt now coating his patent leather shoes. Patting the holster under his suit jacket he made sure the gun he'd brought was still secure, with a feral grin he started his trek up to the house, he's promised his sister he was going to get Hermione to her one way or another.


	25. Monster

**_Hello all! I'm sorry for the long break and this short filler chapter._**

 ** _Life here has been hectic and I would definitely appreciate it if you could keep my beta and her family in your thoughts, they're going through a very rough time._**

 ** _Between that and my job I've been stretched super thin for time._**

 ** _I hope this chapter holds you over until i get back into my writing mindset!_**

 ** _Beta love to Starkiss666_**

 ** _All characters/scenes your recognize belong to their rightful owners_**

 ** _Please review and I hope you enjoy._**

* * *

Hermione couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, Sam had just left and she was still blushing up a storm having kissed him on his cheek as she bid him farewell. She'd locked the front door and checked the locks on all the windows and the back door. Someone or something was watching her and she couldn't be surer that it wasn't a friendly someone either. Patting her waistband to reassure herself that her wand was with her she sat back down on the couch, ignoring the rest of her wine but having plucked a sober up potion from the kitchen cabinet she uncorked it and threw it back. Shivering at the icy coolness that ran through her flushed body.

She didn't dare turn on the tv, she wanted to be able to hear anything that could happen. She was toying with the dog charm on her wrist, considering calling her father when she heard it. The slightest click of a lock being undone, it wasn't the front door and it wasn't magically opened. She got up and padded to the alcove by the stairs, meant for an umbrella stand but left empty, just big enough for her to stand in and be completely hidden from view she watched the back door intently.

The knob turned and a pale hand was visible pushing the door open, followed by a long arm, covered in the finest suit money could buy. She let out a breath quietly, using the breathing technique Sirius had taught her to use when trying to not be detected by someone. She cursed herself for having not used a silencing charm or even a disillusionment charm before the person got the door open, she didn't want to risk being seen casting the spell now. She couldn't stop the fear the trickled down her spine when she saw just who it was coming in the back door of her house. She couldn't move, couldn't breathe for the fear was so potent in her. She was frozen, rooted to the spot as she watched him enter her house uninvited. Her breathing had gotten shallow and she was trying desperately to keep it quiet.

Logically she knew she should pull her wand out and stun him, but that Hermione was locked in a cage behind the Hermione that was scared out of her mind. Her heart felt like it was going to beat right out of her chest, she reached for her bracelet her hands shaking so much the metal charms clinked together. She had just taken her eyes off him for a second to look at her wrist and when she looked up, he was right there in front of her, grinning down at her. His hands were planted on the wall on either side of her head.

"Oh Hermione, you seem so shocked to see me, if you'd just answered my calls and texts we wouldn't be in this position." He cooed at her before running a finger down her cheek. Her hand twitched as she went to grab her wand but he was quicker and pulled it out of her waistband shoving it in his inner jacket pocket.

"Now now, I don't want you ending all the fun we're going to have just yet, so I'll just keep this tucked away for now."

Her mind was going a mile a minute, obviously Kae wasn't just some normal muggle, that much had been proved by the fact that he used a potion to drug her, but who was he?

She reached for her bracelet only to have his hand wrap around her wrist, he shoved it up above her head while he pulled out a tiny vial, he un-corked it and poured the liquid onto the bracelet. Her eyebrows furrowed, what in the world was he doing?

"Oh, I see you're wondering what's happening, let's just say I know all about your bracelet and the fact that it calls your father or lets you teleport away. The potion I just poured on it renders it useless, turns it into an ordinary bracelet by stripping it of its magic, it's the same potion they use to strip criminals of their magic before they're obliviated and sent out into the muggle world."

Hermione couldn't breathe, how, in all her years of training had this, this muggle, been able to one up her. How did he know about her bracelet, how did he know about anything?

"How did you make it past the muggle repelling wards?"

He grinned down at her as he pressed his body into hers.

"I'm a, what do you people call it? Oh yes, a squib, my magical core isn't strong enough to allow me entrance to your world but it lets me sense magic and I'm not affected by it as other muggles would be."

She hadn't realized that squibs actually had a magical core, but that made loads of sense now that she thought about it, how else was Filch able to see and work in Hogwarts?

"So, who are you really? Is Kae Parkins even your real name?"

He shook his head, "Not going to tell you everything now little mouse, I have someone who's waiting for you to be delivered."

At this her rebellious side finally broke free and she struggled against him, managing to get a leg up to knee him in the groin just hard enough he let her go. She was about to the front door when a loud bang sounded from behind her and something punctured the door in front of her. She froze again, turning to face him as he held a gun towards her.

"I didn't want to have to use this Hermione, but since you can't be trusted to sit still, I'll have to."

Keeping the gun levelled towards her he stalked forward, grabbing her by the arm he placed the gun against her head. Her eyes widened when she felt the familiar wave wash over her of someone known coming through the wards, if she could only stall for another couple minutes someone would be coming in who could help her.

"Reach into my right trouser pocket and pull out the watch."

She did as she was told with her free hand, not wanting to agitate him further. Pulling out the long-chained pocket watch she glanced up at him, he quickly took it from her before grabbing her arm again, this time the watch was pressed deep into her skin, the chain dangling between them. Seconds passed and she saw it start to glow blue, she panicked and started struggling to get away from the apparent portkey.

Just as she felt the familiar pull behind her navel the door flung open to reveal Sirius "Papa!" she screamed, watching as his eyes widened and he pulled his wand out sending a stunner straight for Kae, unfortunately it missed as they were tugged away by the portkey.

They landed roughly, Kae let go of her as they landed and she heard another bang and felt the burning sensation in her right shoulder. Looking down she saw the blood flowing down her arm and seeping into her white tank top. Her eyes rolled back and she promptly fainted.

"Shit, shit, shit I didn't mean for it to go off, I had my finger on the trigger when we left and when we landed it went off by accident!"

Kae was shoved roughly aside by his sister who pulled out her wand and stopped the flow of blood, "You're damn lucky you didn't kill her you imbecile. Get out of my face and go get yourself cleaned up. I'll take care of the mudblood before he gets here."

He nodded before exiting the room, leaving Hermione alone with his sister.

The girl crouched down over Hermione as she tilted her head to get a better look at her, reaching out she grabbed a fistful of Hermione's curls and tugged her head so she was facing her, "It's been a long time mudblood, I don't understand what he sees in you but that's none of my business. I've collected you as was my part of the agreement; I can't wait to get my reward."

She then proceeded to fire call her private healer and left Hermione there to be taken care of.

* * *

Sirius was frozen to the spot, he'd just watched his daughter be portkeyed away by some random person. What the bloody hell was happening, they had wards, multitudes of wards to keep people out and somehow this fucking muggle, well obviously not just any muggle if he had a portkey, had gotten through with no issues?

Remus came racing through the door with a sleeping Teddy on his shoulder, he looked at Sirius and stiffened, he'd heard Mina yell for Sirius but he thought that was joy at seeing him after they'd been gone all day.

"Padfoot? What's wrong and where is Mina?"

Sirius couldn't answer just yet, he was too busy staring at the spot she'd disappeared from. He swallowed thickly before finally finding his voice.

"She was here, right there, some guy had a gun on her, Remus she was so scared. She's gone, god I tried to stun him but he had a portkey!"

Remus placed the still asleep Teddy on the couch before putting his hands on his best friends' shoulders, "calm down Sirius, you need to breathe and repeat all of that."

Sirius took a deep breath in through his nose and let it out through his mouth, "I came in the door, only to see Hermione being held against some guy at gunpoint, she screamed my name and I sent a stunner at the guy but it was too late, he had activated a portkey or something and they were gone in a millisecond."

Remus took a second before taking a huge breath in through his nose, his eyes flashed amber and he let out a rumbling growl, "Kae" was all he could get out before Moony took over. He was still present as the other half of his mind took to sniffing the air, he could smell Hermione's fear, Kae's disgusting arousal, he could also smell, Sam? He shook his head, that made no sense, Sam wouldn't hurt Hermione, would he? Walking around a bit more he looked down when something clinked against his foot, tilting his head to get a better look he realized it was a casing from the handgun Sirius had mentioned earlier.

Once Moony was satisfied with his findings he let Remus regain control, pressing a hand to his forehead to try and soothe the pain Moony being in control when it wasn't the moon caused, he turned to Sirius.

"I smelled Kae, it's the same scent she had on her in the hospital, I also found a casing from the handgun you mentioned, and I smelled Sam."

Sirius's eyes darkened, of course it was Kae who took her, the git hadn't left her alone since that date. He knew he should have hunted him down and disposed of him but noooo Hermione told him he had to be a good guy and that she was taking care of it. He shook his head, but what was Sam doing here, Hermione hadn't said anything about meeting him today. There's no way Sam was involved with Kae taking Hermione, there's just no way, not with Leah being imprinted with Remus. His eyes widened, Leah, that's who they needed to talk to, as much as he wanted to take off after Kae he knew, from past experience, that rushing into something without thinking could land him in jail, or worse.

* * *

Sam felt like his world had been ripped in half, he couldn't explain why. He'd left Hermione's just over an hour ago and had been flying high since then. She'd agreed to go on a date with him! He wasn't ashamed to admit that he'd done a stupid little dance once she was out of sight, he still couldn't believe she'd agreed! So why now, after the great morning he'd had, did it feel like something was wrong.

His hands were steepled under his chin as he thought about what he was feeling. He could probably ask one of the boys but their emotional maturity level was at an all-time low since learning what Jared got up to with Kim. Sighing he knew that meant he had to ask Leah, something he hated to do because the woman was great at getting under his skin. He groaned out loud before pulling his cell out and texting her.

Twenty minutes passed and he heard the door of the shop open, but it wasn't just Leah's steps he heard, there were two more people with her. He frowned before standing and meeting them at the door of his office. His eyes widened at the anger and anxiety rolling off the group, he saw Remus had his arm slung around Leah's waist but he could see the pain in the glowing amber eyes. He felt like his heart had stopped, something had happened to Hermione. He had just opened his mouth to ask what was wrong when he was stopped by her father.

"What, the fuck, were you doing at our house today."

He knew the gulp he did was visible, he may have a few inches on Sirius but when the man was mad he was terrifying! He took a step back to put a bit of distance between them.

"I went to your house to talk to Hermione, I asked her on a date."

He watched the way her father deflated, he knew that he wasn't really angry at him, just worried.

"Hermione has been kidnapped, a man she'd been on a date with has taken her."

Sam's mind went blank, Hermione was dating someone else? He didn't even notice Leah walking up to him till her hand was on his arm.

"Hermione only went on one date with this guy Sam, don't worry."

Sirius cocked his head to the side as he watched Sam frown and nod at Leah.

"Why are you so worried about Hermione having gone on a date with someone else? You haven't even been out with her yet."

Sam stiffened and looked at Leah for help, she just shrugged her shoulders and nodded at him. She'd been bugging him to tell Hermione since they officially met. With a resigned sigh he turned towards his imprints father.

"I imprinted on the wolf that saved us from Remus that night, at the time I didn't realize that it was also a human, then when I met Hermione for the first time I imprinted on her too. I was very relived to find out that they were one and the same."

Sirius let out a mirthless laugh, "probably gave you a bloody fright that did, imprinting on what you thought was an animal."

Sam nodded, "What's this about Hermione having been kidnapped? She can just teleport away can't she? She'll be fine right? Back in time for dinner I'm sure."

Sirius pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly there was a lot about magic they still had yet to teach the shifters.

"The person she was taken by is a muggle, but he had access to magical items, meaning wherever she is more than likely has anti-apparition wards and something is interfering with the magic on her bracelet. We can't track her and I know she'd be calling us, plus, the guy had a gun, I'm sure he took her wand."

Sam felt his breath hitch in a very unpleasant way, the tightness that was building in his chest seemed to snap and he gripped the desk he had come to lean against. A piece broke off into his hand as he visibly shook trying to keep himself from phasing out of anger and worry for his imprint. A pair of large pale hands came to rest on his shoulders and he looked up into the glowing gold eyes of Remus.

"Calm yourself, you're an alpha and you need to act like it. We will get my pup back and your mate will be just fine."

Something about the way Remus spoke made his inner wolf recede in record time, he felt himself deflate and he took a deep breath before nodding.

Looking at the group he stood up to his full height, Remus was right, he was an alpha and he needed to get himself together for the sake of his pack and his imprint.

"So, what's the plan then."


	26. Situations

_**Ok all, here you go! I had originally planned on having this out on Easter but working in healthcare means I've been swamped with hours and my muse just hasn't been present. I'm sorry if this isn't the best writing I've done but I hope you all still love it!**_

 _ **As I do work in healthcare I'd expect updates to be even more** **sporadic** **and spaced out and I'm so sorry for that.**_

 _ **Please keep my Beta/best friend starkiss666 in your thoughts while her family goes through a very rough time.**_

 _ **As always I LOVE reading all your reviews, they make me smile and help me get through the rough days when I read them!**_

 _ **Characters/places/scenes you recognize belong to their respective authors, I just am having some fun playing with them.**_

 _ **I hope you all are staying safe and healthy through this trying time!**_

* * *

Hermione's eyes fluttered open, feeling a twinge in her shoulder she groaned out loud as the day's events came rushing back. She went to rub her eyes and realized she couldn't move her hands, the arm she'd been shot in was bandaged to her chest, preventing her movement, the other wrist was attached to the bed with what looked to be muggle restraints, like what they'd use in a mental facility. She noticed the same straps holding her legs to the bed. Glancing around the room she barely contained her gasp, it looked exactly like her room with Ron. Frowning she narrowed her eyes on the restraint on her wrist trying to call on her wandless magic, ' _relashio'_ she grinned when the strap fell away before doing the same to her ankles.

She was vaguely aware of the fact that she'd been changed into a night gown and grumbled at the fact someone had taken advantage of her unconscious state. She felt like an idiot, she was a powerful witch and she shouldn't have been taken by a muggle, wait, no, a squib. Screwing her face up in concentration she tried to wandlessly apparate from the room, stumbling when she hit the anti-apparition ward, she growled and her eyes glowed for a second before she got her wolf under control.

Moving quickly to the window she started trying to budge it open, it didn't move an inch and she strongly suspected a permanent sticking charm was keeping it in place. She'd bet her entire savings account on the fact it'd be able to withstand her wandless bombarda maxima as well. Moving to the door she knew to be the hall she tried getting it open only to be knocked back by some jinx set up to keep her in the room. It wasn't long before a version of the caterwauling charm went off, alerting whoever had worked with Kae to the fact she was awake and trying to escape. She thought about changing into her eagle form and perching somewhere high to watch them but the pain in her shoulder told her that'd be a bad idea, a gunshot wound to the shoulder may not kill a human but it will render her flightless if the wound isn't healed before she changes. She wondered why it wasn't already healed, any medi-wix with a bit of training should've been able to vanish the bullet and heal the damage.

Suddenly it clicked, whoever helped Kae knew she was an eagle animagus, it would explain why they purposely left her wounded. She was still pondering who it could be when she heard the clicking of heels outside the door and a wave of semi-familiar magic washed over her as the person took down the wards on the door. Her eyes widened before narrowing in anger as she recognized that magical signature, this stupid bitch. Hermione thought they'd hashed out all they could when she became friends with Draco but apparently not. Hermione wasn't worried about this bint hurting her more than she already was, she may be sadistic and a racist but she wasn't that capable with magic.

The door opened revealing a tall, pug nosed woman with a black bob and striking blue eyes. Her thin lips curled up into a smirk as she stared at Hermione, raking her eyes over her form.

"Mudblood." was all she said before entering the room and re-sealing the door, her heels clicking obnoxiously on the hard wood floor. Hermione watched as she lowered herself onto the arm chair by the fireplace and motioned for her to sit.

"Parkinson." Hermione replied with disgust in her tone, following the women's instructions to sit on the other chair. "The fuck Pansy? I thought we hashed this out years ago?"

She watched as Pansy rolled her eyes and glared at her, "I didn't do this for myself Hermione, you of all people should know why I did this."

Hermione frowned at her; she knew Pansy had a thing for Ron since he started filling out in 5th year but she should know they broke up. It was plastered all over the news.

"Yes, yes I know you two aren't together, I didn't have Kae kidnap you for me, Ronald really wanted you back and one of the nights I was comforting him he mentioned how much he'd like you back, so, here you are. I tracked you planning to try and kidnap you myself but it was so lucky you happened to stumble into my brothers auto dealership."

Hermione's eyes widened, Kae Parkins was Pansy Parkinson's brother? What the fuck? She'd never heard of the Parkinson's having a squib in their family. She figured it made sense, seeing as they're both some of the most twisted people she'd ever met. She just couldn't wrap her head around Pansy getting her for Ron if she wanted Ron.

"I can see the confusion in your eyes, Ronald wanted you back, I told him I'd get you for him and in return he marries me, he gets to keep you for whatever but I get him too. See Granger, it's a win win!"

Hermione couldn't help the snort that slipped out, Pansy was just as delusional now as she had been when she was in love with Draco in school.

"Pansy, if you want the lying, cheating arse you can have him. I don't want him, at all, there's a reason I moved across the pond! There's a reason my house is well warded against him. How did you find me anyway?"

Pansy gave her a grin that sent shivers down her spine, "Well, first I used an old magic spell, a blood tracker, you apparently had gotten a nose bleed at the burrow a few weeks before you and Ronald broke up, the rags you used like a common muggle were still in the bin in the bathroom. He was glad to give them to me to find you. That was the easy part, getting to you, well, you're right, your house was far too well warded for ME to get in, so that's why I watched you, I followed you everywhere, when you went to my brother's dealership it was as if fate wanted me to get you. I caught him as he was going to check your, credit? Is that what it was? No matter, but I told him to slip you his number and get you to me at any cost. He did perfectly on that date until somehow you managed to shake the potion, that's when he informed me and I sent in my backup. Pity you managed to get the best of him as well."

Hermione's eyes widened; Pansy sent Dolohov? What the hell did she do to deserve having that beast sent after her? Shaking herself out of her thoughts she focused back on Pansy who was still prattling on.

"Once I found out Dolohov had been apprehended I needed another new plan, so I got ahold of Kae and told him to get to you at any and all cost, I made sure he could get through the wards, Ronald gave me the information needed to take care of that tacky charm bracelet you wear, he also felt fit to inform me of what your animagus forms are, obviously I knew you had two but no one but your closest friends knew what they were. Kae's unfortunate shot actually helped us keep you here, got the bullet out but didn't heal the wound so you can't fly away, I'm not sure if it'll stop your wolf form but you're 12 meters in the air right now and even you can't survive that drop."

Swallowing her pride, she tried to keep the disgust out of her voice, "So, you have me, where is the lovely Ronald?"

Pansy smiled at her, "Oh, I knew you'd see it my way, you always were a smart one, I'm sure he can keep you very happy here. He'll be up soon, he sent me first to make sure you were in acceptable condition to receive him."

Hermione's eyes narrowed at the way Pansy was talking, it was like Ron was her master and she his slave. She knew that being raised as a pureblooded girl was a rough upbringing, this was the end result but Pansy had always seemed a bit more outspoken than her counterparts. Filing this observation away she watched as Pansy walked to the door and left without a word, resealing the wards.

Hermione wasted no time, she focused on her magical core making sure she had enough reserves to attempt this. She'd never done a wandless patronus, it was just too much magic to be funneled through her body but she was desperate. Breathing deeply, she calmed her nerves and called up a happy memory, the freshest being Sam, and how he made her feel. She focused hard and when she called it forth the blinding white light was all she could see, the canine form surprised her, even with her animagus training the form never changed, why now? Shaking her head, she ignored the way her heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest and spoke directly to the giant wolf.

"Go to papa and moony, tell them Pansy Parkinson and Ron have me, I'm not sure where, but they should be able to trace my magical signature here. GO!"

She watched as it leapt through the window and disappeared from her sight. She managed to get to the bed before she blacked out from the drain on her magical core.

* * *

Sam was still sitting with Hermione's family and Leah; they had called for backup from Harry and a few other people, Harry had come immediately, they were chatting about who could've been part of Kae's scheme when they heard someone land in the shop. A tall dark-skinned man rivaling Sam's height wearing garish purple robes entered the room followed by another dark-skinned man, this one looking closer to Harry's age.

"Remus, Sirius what happened."

The deep baritone of the man's voice was soothing even to Sam, Harry was muttering under his breath to them explaining this was Kingsley Shaklebolt their Minister for Magic and the younger man being Blaise Zabini the head auror.

Sam was growing impatient at the lack of action being taken, but he didn't know anything about magical law or even how they were going to find her if the person could've taken her anywhere in the world. He was physically shaking despite the warning glances Leah was sending his way, he was about to explode when a shiny wolf bounded through the wall. His eyes widened a fraction when the mouth opened and Hermione's voice came out, he vaguely heard her message stating that a Ron and Pansy (what kind of name is Pansy?) were behind her kidnapping.

He watched as Remus shook, his eyes flashing and staying amber. The only thing that seemed to be keeping him sat down was Leah's hand on his knee. Sirius was growling under his breath, the other two were talking animatedly about possible locations they could be keeping Hermione. Apparently, this Blaise fellow had been friendly with Pansy in their school years, this bothered Sam more than it should. Could he be part of the reason Hermione is gone? He shook his head, Hermione and her family trusted these two, so he would too. He knew he was thinking irrationally but he couldn't help it, his imprint was harmed, shot from what her father said.

"Sam? Did you hear a word we just said?"

He snapped out of his thoughts at Sirius's prompting, before shaking his head and shooting the older man a look that he hoped showed him that he was sorry.

"We are going to be able to track her magic to where she sent the patronus from, it'll give us a search area of where she is and we're hoping Pansy or Ron owns a home or something within that vicinity."

Sam nodded and watched as the auror disappeared with a small pop he turned back to his imprints father, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Sirius shook his head, "You're more than welcome to floo along to England with us if you'd like to be there when we find them. I believe Leah said she was going along."

Sam didn't hesitate to accept the proposed idea, he wanted to be there when his imprint was found to make sure she was safe and relatively unharmed. Letting himself be teleported to Hermione's house was not a fun experience and he'd be just fine to never have to do it again. He stepped into the large fireplace with her father holding his arm and was swept away by the flames.

* * *

Hermione woke with a groan; she could feel her core pulsing as it replenished and she rolled over to try and go back to sleep when she heard a snore come from the bed next to her. Freezing she chanced a glance over her shoulder, Sure enough Ronald was asleep in the bed behind her, snoring away as if everything was right in the world. She narrowed her eyes and slowly climbed off the bed, walking around to stare down at him. This useless piece of flesh was the reason she was shot and basically raped. All because he couldn't have her anymore, he wasn't a child anymore but he had been spoiled rotten by his hag of a mother since birth and as a result he didn't take getting told no very well.

Hermione flexed her fingers, her magic crackling around her hair and bubbling just under her skin, just watching him sleep triggered this, she had to calm down before she lost control of her magic and it lashed out at him or did something worse.

Taking a deep breath, she walked into the en suite and sat on the edge of the tub, she sat there for a few minutes letting her magic calm down before meditating to see her core. This was something she learned during her animagus sessions with Minerva, it was the only way to get a visual of her magical core without a scan. She smiled as she saw her core was almost fully replenished, coming out of her meditation she swished her hand at the door casting a sticking charm on top of the locking charm. It would make it very hard for anyone, namely Ronald, to get in here while she took a quick shower.

She cast an impervius charm on her dressing before stepping into the steaming water, sighing as the heat started working the knots out of her muscles. She frowned when she saw the bottles in the shower, they were the exact brands and scents she had used up until she moved to the states. Just how far down the rabbit hole had Ronald fallen before getting her here? She shook her head and finished her rinse off, grabbing a towel and drying off. She thought about going and grabbing some clothes that she assumed were in the closet but decided against it and put the pajama's back on.

Taking the charms off the door she swung it open only to find Ron standing on the other side, wand out and red faced.

"Why the fuck was the door locked 'Mione?"

She just gave him a smirk and swept past him, scrunching the towel into her curls to try and get more water out without using magic in front of him. She yelped when his hand wrapped around her upper arm just below her still sore bullet wound. She struggled against him as he flipped her around and pulled her into his chest. She gave him her best glare that usually had him crumbling in seconds but he just glared back at her. She was shocked at the hatred that was shining through his blue eyes, she'd seen it directed at her only once before and that was when he was in contact with the locket.

She frowned up at him before trying to back slowly out of his grip but he just tightened his hold and she knew she was going to have bruises the next day.

"Stop trying to piss me off 'Mione, you're not leaving me again. I finally got you back and you're here to stay. Pansy already lined up a witch to do our ceremony and I have your ring right here and it'll be like nothing ever changed."

Hermione felt her eyes widen and she couldn't stop the reaction she had to him pulling out that gaudy ring, she got her arm away from his hand and hit him with a right hook to the face. It was enough to startle him, he dropped his wand and stumbled back a bit, she dove for it and stood up pointing the wand at his face.

"I told you once and I'll tell you again Ronald, I'm not marrying you, I'm not going to be with you ever again. I've met someone else and you don't hold a candle to how good of a person he is."

Stunning him she used his wand to transfigure her nightgown into a pair of leggings and a big t-shirt. She gave him a swift kick to the side before she paused and considered healing her shoulder fully. His wand would work well enough to do it but it could stop her from flying in her eagle form if it wasn't done exactly right. Making a split-second decision she shot a powerful bombarda maxima at the wall near the window smiling when a hole broke open big enough for her to climb through. Sticking her head out she noted she was indeed pretty far off the ground but now that she had Ronald's wand in hand, she could cushion the ground to save herself from the fall. What she didn't notice was the group of men and one woman she had just rained broken bricks down on standing very close to the wall of the building hidden by the shadow of the house.

Taking one last look to make sure Ron was still knocked out she shot a heavy-duty cushioning charm to the ground and smiled when the purple spell spread across the grass, without a second thought she shoved herself feet first out the hole and dropped, she managed to cast arresto momentum and slowed her fall enough that the cushioning should stop her from dying on impact at least. What she wasn't expecting was to land in a pair of very strong arms that wrapped her close to the person who caught her. She had closed her eyes to prepare for the fall and she pried one open and saw chocolate brown eyes staring at her in worry. She gave him a small smile before she closed her eyes and took a deep breath in before relaxing into his hold.

* * *

Sam stumbled out of the fireplace and landed on his stomach, he looked up to see Leah laughing at him and Remus reached down to give him a hand up. Sirius clapped him on the back and told him that it gets easier the more you do it, and it helps if you keep your eyes open so you know when it stops so you step at just the right time. He filed that information away to use later if Hermione ever wanted him to travel via floo. He nodded his thanks to the men and shoved his hands in his pockets, glancing around he noticed they were in a living room, not an office like he had assumed they'd be entering. His attention was pulled away by Sirius leading them all out the front door to meet up with Blaise and Kingsley.

He was barely controlling the urge to shift and find his imprint, but he stamped it down as best he could. He had to trust her family and the people they trusted, he didn't know the first thing about magical law enforcement and how they worked for finding someone. He followed behind Sirius while next to Leah who gave him a comforting smile before turning back to her own imprint. He shook his head, he couldn't believe how much she was like her old self again, he hadn't realized how much he missed her this way. His face settled into a small smile at her happy self, he'd hurt her when he hadn't imprinted on her, and he was very happy that hurt was finally healing.

He shook his head and focused on the task at hand, Sirius was talking with Blaise and Kingsley, they'd gotten the area that she was being held and Pansy's family owned three different buildings in the area, one of which was office space so they ruled that out, the other two were store fronts with apartments above them. Ronald didn't seem to own anything and when they checked his finances, they realized he was out of money so there wasn't any way for him to own anything. He's obviously been relying on Hermione's money when they were together and now was relying on Pansy's.

They'd decided to split into two teams to check out both buildings where she could be, Sirius wanted to send Remus with the cops but Remus wouldn't be separated from Leah, the groups were Kingsley and a group of Aurors, Blaise was taking Sirius, Remus, Leah and himself, along with a couple seasoned Aurors whom Sirius didn't seem to like but he was staying professional for his daughters' sake. He was telling Sam under his breath about how Dawlish was one of the aurors who had arrested him and locked him in Azkaban without a trial. Sam could understand his hatred of the man because it seemed as if this Dawlish fellow still thought Sirius was a bad person.

Blaise stopped ahead of them and pointed out the building they were supposed to be searching. It was on the outskirts of this area, the storefront was closed and had been for a while, the buildings around it seemed to be deserted as well. Sam hadn't realized that he hadn't seen another person in a while until they stopped and he looked around. Following Blaise, they walked to the back of the building, intent on entering through the rear. They were huddled around the back door as Blaise was trying to dismantle some wards someone had placed on the back door when there was a humongous boom and they were suddenly showered with bricks and other debris. Sam watched as a curly hair covered head poked out and seemed to be judging the distance from where it was to the ground. There was a shot of purple light that hit the ground and spread out coating the grass in magic, he didn't know what it was but when he glanced up again the person was falling through the air. They seemed to slow down but he didn't care, he raced to where they would land and got there just in time to catch them, curling the small body into his. His eyes widened when his nose took in the scent of his imprint, Hermione opened her eyes and they made eye contact, she gave him a smile before she closed her eyes and snuggled into his hold. He smiled back before she cracked on eye open and looked at him and her dad.

"Took you long enough by the way, I sent that patronus ages ago."

Sirius couldn't hold his laugh back and Sam joined in, happy to have his imprint back in his arms.


	27. The End of Heartache

_**Here you go! I hope you all enjoy this next chapter.**_

 _ **Beta love to Starkiss666**_

 _ **Any characters/content you recognize belong to their respective authors.**_

 _ **Thanks for all the reviews and love on this story and the thoughts for my beta/roommate and I!**_

 _ **Also, I just posted the starting of a 2nd story if you want to** **check** **it out and review!**_

 _ **As always read, enjoy, review. Stay Safe! I love you all**_

* * *

Hermione was pissed, she'd gotten word from Blaise that Ronald and Pansy had managed to escape the building without alerting the Aurors. She was even more angry about the incompetence of said Aurors. It took them 3 days to find the false back inside the wardrobe in what could only be Pansy's room. Following it they found it led to a hidden room in the other building. That's where they found Kae, the man had been obliviated of all of his memories pertaining to Hermione, Ron and even Pansy.

The man was now locked in the Janus Thickey ward alongside Gilderoy Lockhart and the Longbottoms. Sighing she pulled her hand down her face, climbing out of the tub then dried off magically and pulled on a pair of blue knickers and threw her cyan colored night gown on. Finding her robe she flung that on and left it open before stepping into her slippers. She spelled her hair into a french plait and wandered out to her sitting area in her room. Sitting down in her comfy armchair she summoned her book on Quileute legends.

Fifteen minutes later she felt the tingling of her wards being breached. The person entering wasn't a threat to them but she stood in front of her windows letting her eyes shift over to that of her wolf allowing her to see better in the pitch-black night. Not seeing anything she picked her book back up and began to read, it was probably Leah coming to see Remus, she'd been sneaking in at night thinking no one knew she was there. She was startled when a tiny pebble hit her window. Sitting still for a minute she jumped when another rock hit her window. Frowning she got back up and glanced outside, the frown morphed to a genuine smile when she saw Sam standing under her window. He motioned for her to open the window, she did and leaned out.

"I haven't seen you since we found you and I'm calling in our rain check for our date! Get dressed and meet me at your back door!"

She let out a laugh and closed the window hurrying to her closet. She found a pair of mid-thigh black shorts and a tank top that matched her eyes which was torn up in the back showing off her smooth skin. She dug out a pair of converse high tops that matched the shirt, getting dressed she didn't put on any makeup before running down the stairs.

She stopped to tell Sirius and Remus she was going out with Sam. Both scowled at the thought of her not being at home, then quieted down when she shot them a glare.

Hand on her hip she pointed at them, "I know it's been hard to let me leave without one of you with me but you need to realize, I am 22, I won't be alone, I have a new bracelet, and to top it all off I'll be with Sam. You know he'd never let anything happen to me so lay off with the over protective dad routines."

They both looked thoroughly shamed and nodded, Sirius gave her a kiss on the cheek and told her to have fun. Remus did the same and she gave Teddy a kiss on his sleeping head before grabbing her small black backpack and a black zip up hoodie before heading out the back door.

She giggled when Sam's hand grabbed hers and spun her into him, he gave her a peck on the cheek and tugged her behind him towards the woods behind her house, heading into La Push territory. They walked hand in hand for a while before they stopped at the clearing where Sam first saw her. Telling her to stay there he ran off into the tree line, he wasn't gone a minute before he came backout with a picnic basket dangling from his elbow and a blue blanket in hand. Handing her the basket he spread the blanket out and helped her take a seat, he then started unpacking the basket.

She couldn't keep her laugh in when he pulled out at least a dozen sandwiches, followed by four different types of chips, four two liters of pop, macaroni salad, potato salad, brownie bites, vanilla cake bites with peanut butter frosting, chocolate chip cookies, and finally chocolate covered strawberries.

She snagged a strawberry and raised her eyebrow at him, "How did you manage to fit all of that inside the picnic basket?"

She punctuated the end of her sentence with a bite of her strawberry, not missing the way his eyes were drawn to her lips, she chewed and swallowed before licking a bit of juice off the side of her mouth. This seem to shake him out of his stupor and he gave her a sheepish grin.

"I asked for help from you dad."

Hermione's eyebrows shot up at that, her dad hadn't said anything about helping Sam plan a moonlit date. Sam, sensing her surprise gave a slight laugh.

"He refused, but Remus volunteered to charm this basket, took me a while to get used to it when I was packing everything but let me tell you this charm is super handy!"

Hermione smiled at his enthusiasm; she took a minute to just look at him. He was gorgeous to say the least, tall, dark and handsome was what came to mind. Her eyes roamed from his short dark hair, to his eyes, they were such a dark brown that they looked almost black, but when he smiled you could see the happiness radiating from them. She trailed down to his full, very kissable lips to his strong jaw, past his adams apple to his broad shoulders, he was a very muscular man but not so much that it was disgusting. She knew if they were standing her head would come to his shoulders. She silently wondered if her being that short bothered him but when she glanced back up at his face all she could see was his very white smile and the way he was watching her.

With a blush she looked away, but not before snagging one of the ham sandwiches from the tray. She couldn't help the way the flush burned brighter when she heard his deep chuckle.

"You can look at me as much as you like Hermione, so long as I get the same privilege."

The way his voice sounded like a purr to her made her flush brighter than she ever had before, she was suddenly very glad they were having a moonlight picnic so he couldn't see just how much his voice affected her. She took a big bite of her sandwich in hopes it would distract her enough to let the blush die down. She watched as he dished out some salads for her and poured her a cup of Dr. Pepper, her favorite fizzy drink. He then motioned to the bags of chips and she just pointed at one and he opened it and set it near her. She was happily munching on her sandwich as she watched him take four sandwiches, huge scoops of salad and a whole bag of chips for himself alone with a two liter of Coca Cola.

She grinned at the way he wolfed down the food, it was fast but he did it without being disgusting like Ronald used to be. Forcing the comparison out of her head she decided to talk, she needed a distraction. She waited for his attention to be on her before asking about his childhood, she saw his eyes widen before he smiled and told her about his non-existent father and his loving mother. He told her stories about growing up on the reservation, when she asked about the legends, he told her the old stories the way he'd been told them growing up. She'd read every legend in the books but it was much more riveting hearing it from Sam, it made them all seem so much more real.

When he turned the question around on her she told him about her muggle parents, how they were dentists and had loved her more than anything in the world. How they were in their late 40s when she was born, how they took her to many different countries growing up, let her learn whatever she wanted. She told him how accepting they were when they found out she was a witch, she glossed over how they died and how she came to be Sirius's daughter. She told him about her interesting school years, about being petrified by the basilisk, the way they rescued Sirius from everything and how he was exonerated by the courts and was able to become Harry's legal guardian not long before her parents died.

She told him how Dumbledore had wanted to keep Harry miserable in the muggle world so that he would willingly go to his death at Voldemort's hand, she told him how her old headmaster had not wanted Sirius to adopt her because he was planning to ship her off to America to keep her from making Harry realize that he had a family that loved him. It seemed with every story of how her life went before meeting him he got tenser and tenser. She finally stopped at around her 6th year.

"Sam? Are you okay?"

He took a deep breath before answering her, "Yes, I'm just realizing there's been so many chances to have you taken from me before I even met you."

She gave him a smile and blushed lightly at the way the words melted into her heart.

"Would you like me to continue or?"

He nodded and motioned her to continue on as he snagged another sandwich to munch on while she told her stories. She got up to the time she spent being tortured in Malfoy Manor and had unknowingly shifted closer to him as she was getting chilly, not remembering that she'd brought a jacket for this reason. So, she felt rather than saw him stiffen when she glossed over the torture, she felt him run his fingers over the scar that was reappearing little by little every day. It made her shiver as no one had touched her scar in years.

She was suddenly pulled into his arms in a big hug, his face was pressed into the nook where her shoulder met her neck. She felt him shaking and she just let him hold her and get it out of his system. It was a few minutes before the shaking subsided and he let her go, she could feel the leftover heat from his blush on her neck but she didn't mention it. He gave her a small smile and she gave on back, gripping his hand in hers she continued the story, moving on to the most recent with Ronald and his cheating escapades along with the kidnapping scheme.

She was reached for a brownie bite and popped it in her mouth watching Sam as he processed the entirety of her life. She could admit that her life had been far more exciting than most.

"So, I have to say, I'm very glad you're as resilient as you are, because if you weren't, I wouldn't have met you." He gave her a grin and popped a whole cookie in his mouth.

She gave him a brilliant smile in return and reached for another strawberry, but he beat her to it, with a slight blush he held the berry out to her, she lessened her smile into a coy grin. Leaning forward she bit into the strawberry, letting her lips wrap around it before pulling away and swallowing that bite. She smirked at the spark in his eye when he reached for another berry, having finished off the one in his hand. They repeated this until Hermione looked up and noticed he had a speck of white chocolate on the corner of his mouth.

She was going to point it out before she got a better idea, leaning forward she kissed the corner where the chocolate was, letting her tongue flick out to clean the piece off before pulling away and nonchalantly grabbing a cake bite. She raised an eyebrow at his frozen form, which she chewed, once he shook it off and smiled at her, she didn't notice when he ran his thumb over a strawberry and gathered the chocolate before he reached over and smeared it on her lower lip. He quickly leaned over and caught her mouth with his, running his tongue over her plump lower lip, he went to pull away, having wanted to just steal a real kiss, when he felt her open her mouth and allow him entrance. They were quickly battling for dominance when he was caught off guard by her climbing in his lap.

Hermione knew this wasn't going to go any further than a heated snogging session, because she wasn't ready for that step but she couldn't resist kissing him back. Pulling away she gave him a grin before standing up and pulling her wand, she cast a stasis charm over the food and a notice me not to make sure no one bothered the food before turning back to him.

"I do hope you brought a change of clothes." She told him before shifting into her wolf form and letting her tongue roll out of her mouth her eyes widened when he started taking off his shirt and she turned and ran into the trees, it wasn't three seconds before she heard him tearing after her, she let out a howl and pushed herself faster, relishing in the thrill of being chased.


	28. Hell and High Water

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 _ **As always beta love to starkiss666**_

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* * *

Ronald was pacing in front of a grand fireplace in Pansy's new loft located in wizarding Paris. How had the little bitch been able to get the better of him?! He was a strong, talented, brilliant wizard. Much stronger than some bookish muggleborn, everyone knew muggleborns weren't as powerful as purebloods.

Pansy was laying naked in bed covered by hideous orange silk sheets, watching him pace. She frowned, the madness she'd noticed in him was starting to grow, he was becoming obsessed with Granger. Dangerously obsessed, not unlike how she had felt for him, well, until he'd forgotten to renew the compulsion potion he'd slipped her, something he'd likely obtained from a not so legal brewery in Knockturn Alley. The potion fed off her feelings for him and made her even more susceptible to his whims.

Oh yes, it was true Pansy still harbored a crush on the weasel, if he'd just come to her and asked for help, she'd have given it freely, but no. He just had to go and drug her, that was NOT acceptable to her and she was going to pay him back, one way or another.

* * *

Sam watched as Hermione shifted into her wolf form, he couldn't take his eyes off her, the wolf was gorgeous. Her fur was sleek and had various inky colors running through it, unlike his own form which looked like a shadow, pitch black with dark eyes. He could see the playful spark in her blue-green orbs before he started taking his shirt off. He laughed at how they widened and she took off into the trees giving him privacy to finish stripping before he launched after her in his form.

He could hear her tearing through the trees before she let out a musical howl that made his heart soar. He chased her all the way to La Push beach where the spent a good hour wrestling in the sand and frolicking in the water. Their peaceful night disturbed by him seeing something coming towards them, and fast, he couldn't tell from which direction though.

He growled a warning to Hermione hoping she would understand and stay behind him, he was sure whatever was coming towards them was a leech. He didn't have time to react however when a solid body sprung out of the water and tackled him to the ground.

He could smell him, this leech reeked, he swung around snapping his powerful jaws at him, but he held tight trying to snap his spine. He wasn't prepared to have him blown off of him though, he spun around and saw Hermione in her human form pointing her wand at the blonde blood sucker.

The leech was hissing and spitting at them and the sand seemed to swallow him whole until only his head was sticking out. He growled at Hermione as she stalked towards the bloodsucker but she just waved him off.

"What are you doing here leech?"

She kept her wand trained on his head, the vampire smirked and gave her a once over.

"He reeks but you, you smell like heaven and I wanted a taste. I didn't realize a wolf could smell so...appetizing."

The hair on the back of her neck stood up, in her haste to come down to Sam she'd forgotten to mask her scent. He bared his fangs at her in what he probably assumed as an appealing look, his red eyes piercing into her blue ones. She could tell he was trying to use his vampiric appeal to get her to come closer to let him out and she just glared back at him. Pointing her wand, she sent a strong shock jinx at him, causing him to cry out. He closed his eyes and bared his fangs at her in what she could only call a snarl.

"I'll ask again, what are you doing here leech, you must know the Olympic coven has staked a claim on this land."

This made Sam growl behind her and she shot him a look that promised pain if he didn't shut up. The vampire in question glanced behind her and smirked at him.

"I knew, I have history with Jasper, I also wanted to see the werewolves for myself. I've heard of them but thought the Volturi wiped them off the face of the Earth eons ago."

Hermione closed her eyes and sighed, how stupid were these people.

"He's not a werewolf he's a shape shifter, there's a major difference. Werewolves only shift because of the lunar pull; shape shifter shift at will and these particular shifters grew this way due to leeches like you trespassing on their land and murdering their people. They are designed to kill you, you've made a huge mistake coming here, but you're in luck that you stumbled upon me instead of the rest of the pack. I'll give you a swift death, the pack would torment you as you were ripped limb from limb."

To punctuate her words Sam snarled and snapped his jaws at the trapped leech. The vampire had the audacity to smirk at her.

"And how exactly is a tiny slip of a girl going to kill me, with that little stick? Just let me go and we shall call a truce between us."

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"I can't let you go...James McGreggor. You see, you're a human killer and I can't in good conscious just let you be."

She saw the shock that registered on his face when she spoke his true name. She smirked, glad that he didn't have a natural talent of hiding his thoughts or sensing an intrusion to his mind.

"Now, before I rid the world of your undead presence, do you have anywhere you'd like me to ship your ashes? Or may I just dump them in the ocean?"

This seemed to spur the vampire into action, he started struggling against his sandy bindings, Hermione took pity on him and had the sand let him go, but as soon as he was free, he moved towards her, his intent to kill her screaming in his mind. He wasn't prepared for her to wrap a tornado of flames around him. He froze, any twitch in his muscle would cause him to catch fire, she let the tornado press in on him, letting him feel the heat of his death come closer.

"Any last words James?"

His eyes snapped to her and he smirked.

"You can kill me, but my mate will destroy you in return, she will find you, and she will destroy everything you hold dear. Kill me now you mangy mutt and let me be rid of the sight of you."

Hermione just nodded and with a flick of her wand the flames engulfed him. He let out and inhuman shriek before his body crumpled to the ground. Cancelling the spell, she summoned the ashes and watched as they separated from the sand around them, she then levitated the pile to the water and flung it away.

Turning back to Sam she let him sniff her to make sure she was okay. She buried her face in the soft fur on his neck and let out a sigh.

"Let's head back to the picnic, shall we?"

She mumbled into his neck before pulling away and shifting forms. She'd really have to find a way for them to keep their clothes when they change. It had to suck ripping them or having to strip to shift.

She gave him a soft woof and he ran behind her and nipped her leg causing her to jump and take off running.

Making it back to the picnic she shifted and cancelled her charms before grabbing his clothes piling them into a bundle, he came tearing out of the wood behind he and skidded to a stop, his tail wagging slightly behind him.

She presented him with the bundle of clothes which he gently took and he went behind a big tree, a minute passed before he came around buttoning up his navy shirt, she ogled his abs and nearly drooled as he rolled the sleeves up to his elbows. Trying not to get caught watching him she glanced away blushing. He came up beside her and dropped a kiss to her cheek, which made her smile. She had been slightly worried he was mad at her for taking the vampire on basically by herself or for denying him the kill that was by all rights his.

He didn't move away however, instead he wrapped his arms around her and sat them down, her in between his legs leaning back on his chest. She felt him drop a couple tiny kisses on top of her head before laying his cheek on her head and pulling her closer to him.

They stayed like that until Hermione fell asleep, it was about 2am. Sam just shifted her so she was in his lap sideways and he could stand up with her in his arms. Before that he sent a text to Embry, asking him to come get this picnic stuff picked up, he let him know he was taking Hermione home and the pack needed to meet asap.

Lifting her into his arms he was still shocked by how light she was, he knew it was partly because of his strength from the wolf but she was just a tiny thing.

He couldn't help the way his heart pounded as she snuggled closer to his chest. He hated that'd she'd masked her scent after the situation with that leech. He also didn't like that the leech said she smelled delicious. She'd handled herself and the leech better than any of his wolves could've or would've. He made it to her house quickly, he wasn't at all surprised when her dad flung the door open, the mans mouth was already open, no doubt to berate him for keeping his "little girl" out so late. Sam ignored him as he shouldered past and started up the stairs nodding to Remus who was coming down the stairs.

He nudged open the door and laid her on the bed, he took off her shoes and tucked her in, placing a swift kiss to her forehead before backing out the door and closing it. Turning around he gave a very unmanly shriek when he came face to face with Sirius. He hadn't even heard him coming up the stairs, glancing at the smug smirk on his face he assumed that he used magic to make himself silent. Sirius pointed at him and mouthed ' _stay'_ at him before going in Hermione's room. Sam didn't dare move from the spot he stood in, he waited the five minutes it took Sirius to do whatever he was doing before the man snuck back out of her room and motioned for him to follow down the stairs.

Once there Remus handed him a beer and gave him a slap on the shoulder before sitting on the couch and motioning for him to take a seat as well. Choosing a spot on the comfy looking arm chair he relaxed into the cushioned seat and took a swig of his drink. He waited for one of the two men to say something while trying not to squirm under their gazes, it felt like they were looking into his soul.

Remus gave him a smile and sat back, "We're not here to try to intimidate you or dissuade you from perusing our girl. We just want to be 100% that you're going to take care of her to the best of your abilities. We know she's a spitfire and is completely uncontrollable. She does what she wants, when she wants, she'll drive you insane but you can't help but love her at the same time. We just want to be sure you understand what you're getting into by courting her."

Sam relaxed a bit more at this statement, he was really hoping they weren't trying to warn him off Hermione. Taking another swig of his beer he contemplated what to tell them.

"Hermione told me about the war tonight, about her torture, her parents. I get the feeling she didn't tell me everything but it was enough to understand that she has been put through hell and came out on top. She's so much stronger than anyone gives her credit for and I honestly don't think I would ever want to dull her light, when I look at her, she's my moon and stars on a clear night, the sun on a warm spring day. I wouldn't change anything about her."

Remus smiled brightly at this while Sirius just grumbled under his breath. Truth be told, he liked Sam, and that made him mad because he could see Hermione and him being together for the long run. Even without the imprint bond he could tell they'd be perfect for one another. They talked a bit more about Leah and Hermione, and Sam felt the need to give the same sort of warning to Remus. Adding in that he'd been the one to hurt her before Remus came and was making everything better, something he apparently already knew from Leah. Sam was glad the older wolf didn't hold it against him, he seemed to understand that Sam broke up with Leah for her own protection.

After they finished their drinks, he bid them all goodnight and goodbye before heading out the door, Sirius and Remus watched him walk off with twin smiles on their faces. He was going to be good for their Hermione.

* * *

The next morning Hermione was awoken by her cell phone ringing, rolling over she grabbed it from the night stand and answered sleepily.

"Hello?"

"Hermione? I'm on my way to your house, I miss you! Also, I need to talk to you about something."

Hermione rubbed her face and let out a sleepy chuckle.

"Alright Isabella, I'll be up and around, kind of, when you get here, just let yourself in and if I'm not downstairs I'll still be in my room, feel free to come up."

She pulled the phone away as Bella hung up and tossed it on the bed. Glancing down at her pj's she frowned. She didn't remember coming home last night or changing into her pajamas, she wondered if her dad put her to bed but shrugged it off. Climbing out of bed she flicked her wrist and her bed proceeded to make itself as she wandered into the bathroom. She had roughly twenty minutes before Bella got here so she turned on the shower and hopped in as soon as it got hot. Spending just enough time in the shower to washer her hair, body, face and cast a quick hair removal charm she quickly got out and wrapped up in one of her over-sized fluffy towels.

While brushing her teeth she wandered into her closet and started digging for an outfit. Deciding on a pair of dark torn up skinny jeans and a white burnout tee she dug out a nude bra and matching lace cheekies before heading back into the bathroom to rinse her mouth. She quickly charmed her hair dry and pulled on the clothes, tucking just a bit of the tee into the waistband of her jeans. Leaving her hair to flow down her back she filled in her brows before putting on a light sweep of black eye liner and some mascara before digging out a matte nude lipstick and swiping it on. Pleased with the results she wandered back into her closet and pulled out her grey denim jacket and threw it on. She was looking for her black and white vans when the door to her bedroom opened and Bella walked in.

Stopping what she was doing she got off the floor and went to give her cousin a hug, she could tell the girl was pretty nervous about something but decided to let it be, because she'd tell her sooner or later.

"Will you help me find my black and white vans? The lace up ones not the slip ons please."

The duo set off, finally discovering the shoes behind her bedroom door, how they got there and why they were there Hermione had no clue, but pulling them on she grabbed her black leather backpack and they headed down to the kitchen. Hermione was starving, having worked off her late food with Sam and the vampire.

'Shit, I need to talk to papa and Remus about that whole deal.'

Making a mental note to speak with them she started cracking eggs to make waffles, no sooner was she done plating them than she heard the pitter patter of Teddy's feet coming down the stairs, followed closely by two other footsteps. She smiled and summoned the toppings before motioning for Bella to sit at the table with her, the boys could enjoy eating at the counter. Hermione was filling every hole with peanut butter while Bella was drenching her waffles in raspberry flavored syrup. Summoning the strawberry topping Hermione proceeded to cover one half of her waffle with it before folding it into a taco shape and cutting it in half.

Bella was laughing at the way she was preparing her meal; she couldn't believe her cousin ate her waffle like a taco. She finished off another bite before drawing Hermione's attention.

"Do you think you could make it so the boys don't hear what I wanna talk about? Or would you prefer to wait and go somewhere quiet?"

Hermione stopped chewing and glanced up at her cousin, the girl was paler than usual and her eyes seemed dull. Swallowing the bite, she pulled her wand and cast a muffliato, giving the girls the privacy Bella requested.

"What is it you wanted to talk about Bella? What's wrong?"

Bella used her fork to push the now mushy waffle around her plate, not looking at her cousin.

"Well, I started seeing someone. I know you're not going to be happy with me, but they want to meet you. You have them scared."

Hermione knew exactly who Bella was talking about and she sighed, she knew Bella had a small infatuation with Edward Cullen but she was hoping to keep her from him for just a bit longer, school was starting in a couple weeks and she had wanted to view their interactions with humans a bit before deciding if they were safe for her cousin and uncle to be around. Logically she knew it wasn't her decision but she couldn't help feeling a bit overprotective of her family.

"Do you want me to meet them?"

This question seemed to throw Bella off, she was expecting Hermione to put up much more of a fight. She took in the resigned way her cousin was munching her waffle taco and thought about it. Did she want Hermione to meet the Cullens? Did she trust them all to behave if they did meet? She knew Hermione wasn't a fan of Edward, but was that just because of his interest in her?

"I think I would like for you to meet them, they're curious about you and I know you want to study them. I think it would be best for you to meet them before becoming their teacher."

"Then I shall meet them, if it's really what you want, tell them I'll meet them at their home tomorrow at 6? You'll be there of course?"

Bella let out a small squeal and reached over to pull her cousin into a hug.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! I hope this goes well! You might want to cancel whatever spell you put up because it seems the boys are getting anxious."

Hermione looked behind her and giggled at the dual pouts on Remus and Sirius's faces, she cancelled the spell and stuck her tongue out at them making Teddy giggle. Hermione gathered her now empty plate and took it to the sink, Bella not far behind her, she stooped and gave Teddy a peck on the head, avoiding his sticky, messy face.

* * *

Edward was lounging on the couch reading a book while Emmet played his video games. They were both startled from their concentration when Alice let out a squeal. He lowered his book and raised his eyebrows at Alice's thoughts.

"What do you mean Bella convinced Hermione to meet us?"

This garnered the attention of Carlisle and Esme who had been in the kitchen talking. They strolled in and looked at Alice expectantly.

"I had a vision of Bella deciding to ask Hermione to meet us as she's dating you and really wants her cousin's approval. That was a few days ago, well I didn't say anything because nothing came from it but apparently Bella got the balls to go ask her and I saw Hermione agreeing to meet us! She wants to come over tomorrow at 6, Bella is going to be calling you in a few minutes Edward."

Edward was dumbstruck, he hadn't thought Hermione would ever be amicable to meeting them, he knew she wasn't happy he was dating Bella. Maybe he'd be able to learn how she knew of them and what made her hate them so much. He hadn't realized that Alice had started talking and tuned back in when he heard her mention the new English teacher they'd be having.

"What did you just say Alice?"

She gave him a dirty look that made him shudder, she hated to be interrupted and hated people not listening to her even more.

"I said, apparently Hermione is taking over the English teaching position at the school."

Edward just gaped at her, Hermione wasn't much older than them, how in the world was she supposed to be their new English teacher?

He opened his mouth to ask just that when his phone rang, looking at the screen he saw it was Bella and proceeded to walk out of the room to have a semi private conversation with his girlfriend.

* * *

Hermione had informed her dad and Remus about the interaction with the male vampire at the beach. They were very glad she had been with Sam even though she'd been the one to take care of the leech. She told them how she'd agreed to go to the Cullen's the next day with Bella and her dad was pouting at the fact she'd told him he wasn't invited to come this time. She reminded him that these vampires were 'vegetarian' and that she could incapacitate them with a flick of her wrist. Oddly Remus seemed perfectly fine with this idea, she wasn't going to question it and it made her very happy that he trusted her.

The quartet spent the day together, watching movies, and Hermione had Teddy help her make some cookies, laughing when Teddy kept eating the dough. Hermione pretended not to notice when he and his father both did it, eating more dough than she could get baked. All in all it was a perfect day, rounded off by Sam showing up that night and spending hours sitting in her comfy chairs talking. The only problem had been when she informed Sam she was meeting with the Cullens. He had proceeded to rant and rave about how untrustworthy they were and how it wasn't safe for her to go. She sat quietly and sipped at the tea she'd made earlier, letting him vent before she calmly told him she was going whether he liked it or not and if it would help him get over it she'd make sure and call him as soon as she got done with them.

He gave her a small smile of apology when he had been through with his rant and agreed she was her own person but he couldn't help the need he had to keep her safe. Setting his own coffee mug aside he stood up and stretched, grinning at the way her eyes raked over him.

"I would like you to text me when you're done, if you'd be up for it maybe we could go out and have dinner?"

She gave him a brilliant smile and nodded before banishing their cups to the kitchen and walking him downstairs to the door, she made him bend down so she could give him a kiss on the cheek and watched as he got into his beat up pickup and drove down the drive, she watched until she couldn't see his taillights anymore before she headed up to bed, she needed to be fully rested and ready for her day tomorrow.


End file.
